


Moments

by Trexi



Series: Ignoring the Hero Handbook [3]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2020-10-28 15:51:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 24,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20781137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trexi/pseuds/Trexi
Summary: Series of different POVs from moments during the events of Exceptions and Inevitable. Highly recommend reading the previous two parts first.





	1. Not So Cool

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See the series notes for a timeline of when the Moments chapters are set relative to the Exceptions and Inevitable chapters.

**LISA**

Camping out at Len’s apartment and watching Disney movies while stealing his beer is something of a tradition on the first night he’s out of jail. Except, Len didn’t show up on the first night, or the second, so I stole the rest of the six-pack and went home. Mick rarely shows, half because he’s usually in there right alongside Len, and half because he and Len have a habit of getting into fistfights when they don’t end up arrested at the same time. This time, it wasn’t either of those, but Mick’s been stuck sorting out a turf war that’s got Saints and Sinners at its centre. It was him or me, so we flipped for it.

Mick still hasn’t figured out that I have a two-headed coin.

For every day Len doesn’t turn up, I’ve been stealing something from my favourite jewellery store, if only because of how grouchy Len gets whenever someone hits the same place twice. And if I happen to be wearing those items while lounging on my couch with Len’s beer, well, I guess that it’s just luck I’m in the perfect position to greet my dear brother when he finally shows. I don’t turn to look at him when he closes my front door behind him, of course. Len doesn’t deserve that courtesy right now.

“Nice to see my big brother after he’s been out of prison for,” I trail off. “How many days was it again, Lenny? Surely, in all that time you couldn’t have found a phone. It _is_ the holiday season after all. You know, a time for family.”

“Hey, Lise.”

I slam my beer down on the coffee table, stand up, and turn on my heel to glare at him. “Hey, Lise?” I repeat, but then I take my brother’s appearance in and tuck the anger aside for later. “Wait a sec. Are you _blushing_?” I question, glad for the security cameras I have set up in here. The blackmail material has made that investment beyond worth it. “Who on Earth has gotten my dork of a brother who gladly adopted the moniker ‘Captain Cold’ to turn such a bright red?”

“I’m not blushing, Lise,” Len says as if nothing could be more absurd. “It’s just cold outside.”

I stare at him blankly and wait for him to realise that he literally wields a gun that shoots ice without being bothered by the cold.

“You really didn’t think that one through, did you?” I ask.

Len shrugs off his parka, decidedly not looking at me. “Shut up.”

“That’s the best you can come up with? Really?” I question.

“Just drop it, Lise.”

“Not until you tell me who’s gotten you like this.”

Len sighs. “Isn’t this meant to be a time for family? And not interrogating older brothers who’ve only just gotten out of prison?”

I fold my arms. “See, I might’ve bought that one if not for two very important reasons. First, a time for family is always a time for interrogating said family. Second, you didn’t contact me first. We have a system, Lenny. You ignored that. So, no, I’m not going to drop it.”

“Sorry if contacting you wasn’t my first priority when I was busy trying to doublecross Mardon and Jesse without either of them realising it.”

“You did what?” I question, all thoughts of figuring out why Len was blushing pushed aside in favour of figuring out if he’s lost his damn mind, which is no doubt the point of him saying that. “I thought you wanted to bring Mardon in as a Rogue.”

“I did. I still do and will. Neither of them figured out that I tipped off the Flash, but I had to make sure that Scarlet knew not to give that away and that if they did find out, that they didn’t go after you or Mick to get back at me.”

“I can handle myself.”

“One of them is completely insane, and the other can summon a storm with a thought. Forgive me if I don’t think you’re quite ready for that yet, _little_ sister.”

“Why’d you even tip off the Flash in the first place?” I ask, still biting my tongue on the fact that Len’s given the speedster a nickname.

Len looks away, and for a second, I almost think he’s blushing again, but it must be a trick of the light because when he looks back, the red is gone.

“Scarlet’s turned out to be useful in the past, and I figured I’d give him this, so he owes me a favour in the future.”

“Uh huh. And what excuse are you giving Mick?” I ask because the pyromaniac is a lot less likely to let Len get away with whatever bullshit reason he makes up when it comes to helping the Flash.

“The truth,” Len answers.

“Which is?”

“The same thing, of course.”

I raise an unimpressed eyebrow. “Lenny, really. If that doesn’t pass with me, why would you think that Mick would believe you?”

“I–”

“Don’t worry about it, Lenny. Mick will just put this down as another thing with you being obsessed with the Flash.” I note Len’s slight twitch at that and smile to myself. “So what was up with that cute CSI visiting you in prison so much anyway?” I ask, generously changing topics.

This time Len doesn’t look away quick enough, revealing the teensiest blush that Len tries to cover up with an abrupt cough. “That was just Barry,” he says.

“Barry, huh? And what got this badge visiting you?”

“He’s Doc Allen’s kid.”

“That doesn’t explain what’s got you so flustered, Lenny.”

Len scowls. “I don’t _get_ flustered.”

“Sure, and I don’t like shiny things,” I retort.

“Barry Allen inherited Star Labs from Harrison Wells,” Len explains, taking the same tone as when he’s planning out a job. “He first visited me because of his dad, but came back because I–”

“Called in a dozen favours to get a private visit from him,” I interrupt with a smirk.

Len sends me a dry glare.

“He owns Star Labs, Lise, which means that he knows the Flash, and was my only reliable source on finding out whether Scarlet was dead or lying paralysed somewhere. I didn’t dedicate months of building myself up to be his nemesis only for the idiot to get taken out by some other speedster on live television.”

“Okay,” I concede. “I’ll give you that. But it doesn’t answer why this Barry had you blushing like a teenager after their first kiss.”

That seems to hit a nerve. Len folds his arms and scowls. “There is nothing and never will be anything between Barry and me. His foster dad is Detective West, he works for the CCPD himself, his soon-to-be brother-in-law is another detective, he owns Star Labs and therefore works with the Flash, and, I don’t know if you noticed this, but I’m a world-class thief and literal supervillain.”

I’m going to let how much Len seems to know about this badge go only because I know that he can’t help casing anyone new in his life. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t other things I can tease him about with that little titbit

“You didn’t mention an obvious reason, brother mine,” I point out.

Len frowns. “And what’s that?”

I smirk, picking up the beer I was nursing before Len showed up and taking a slow sip. “Whether you two have feelings for each other, of course.”

That gets Len darting for the fridge, slamming it open, and grabbing a beer for himself. Oh, this is going to be so much fun. I can’t wait to meet this CSI if he’s managed to turn my calm cool brother into this mess after a couple of visits. I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out that they met beforehand.


	2. Seeing what nobody else can

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie’s sure Barry is dating someone, but he doesn’t get why nobody else sees it.

**EDDIE**

Barry’s been acting differently lately. He’s been lighter somehow, even with everything that life seems to keep throwing at him. I could’ve sworn that he’d found someone, but the CSI was adamant about not needing a plus one for the wedding, so maybe I was wrong. Then again, I wouldn’t put it past the part-time superhero to straight up lie about something like that if he didn’t want to draw extra attention to himself. With everything that’s been happening with Zoom on the Flash side of things, and Wally on the more normal side of things, he’s probably got into his head that he can’t have something happy for himself, no strings attached.

Some days I can’t blame him if he wanted to keep whoever they are away from the craziness that seems to be both his life and the rest of the family’s. If there even is a someone at all. I thought it was a given when I mentioned the plus one thing to him, but after his denial, which I naturally told Iris about, she laughed for a solid five minutes and said of course Barry hasn’t found anyone yet. Surely, we all would’ve noticed if he had. He’s terrible at keeping secrets, according to Iris. And yeah, it seems like every week someone new finds out the Flash’s identity, but I think that when it comes to things that truly matter to Barry above all else, he’d guard the secret with his life.

But he’s also incredibly honest when it comes to the people he cares about or respects, so if Barry really is seeing someone, I hope he doesn’t keep everyone in the dark for long. I saw how it killed him to keep being the Flash from Iris, and that was information that could put her in danger if she found out, but something like this? As happy as Barry’s been lately, I half hope it isn’t because he’s in some secret relationship, if only because I’m not sure how everyone in his life would react if they’re kept in the dark for too long.

That said, if it’s a case of him obviously dating someone and nobody else seeing what’s right in front of them, well, I can understand the amusement factor in watching them twist themselves in knots to somehow not realise. Admittedly, I wouldn’t mind being able to say I told you so to Iris and Joe considering they keep ignoring all the hints I’ve found that Barry is most probably in a relationship. And that’s not even getting into the boxes of chocolates I’ve noticed the speedster hiding over these past several days. It’s almost like Barry forgets that by coming into work late almost every single morning, other people end up in his lab looking for him.

Well, I end up in his lab looking for him because Joe got tired of always being the one assigned for the task, and someone needs to check to make sure Barry hasn’t gotten side-tracked by sneaking in a quick patrol before work. The last time that happened, Barry ended up passed out on his desk from exhaustion before lunch time, and the time before that, passed out on the floor of his lab from hypoglycaemia because the man is incapable of paying attention to his own limits when helping others. When I suggested we tell Joe this, Barry started spouting off random blackmail material that I didn’t even know he had on me, all while insisting that it wasn’t an issue at all, and do I really need to involve Joe and make him worry, even with everything go on with Wally?

The point is, I noticed those chocolates on his desk before he hid them, and I know they weren’t from some secret admirer because Barry definitely tells Iris about whenever those happen, if only because he knows she’ll just embarrass him more if he doesn’t come clean about it quickly. I only didn’t mention the chocolates to Barry because he seemed so sure of himself that he had successfully hid them, and I couldn’t bring myself to point out that he was absentmindedly eating some of them when I came up to get the results of a DNA test for one of my most recent cases.

“What about the texting?” I ask Iris while making dinner.

My fiancé rolls her eyes. “Are you still going on about this?”

“Barry rarely pays attention to his phone when he’s working. You know how he gets, all absorbed in the task and oblivious to his surroundings.”

“Yes, I am a bit familiar with one Barry Allen’s usual behaviours,” Iris says with a teasing smile. “I’ve only known him since forever.”

“Then you’ve probably noticed that he’s been checking his phone, smiling at it, and texting lately.”

“He’s probably just texting Felicity. They’re pretty good friends for all that they can’t see each other in person that often.”

“But what about the blushing?”

Iris puts down the wedding folder and twists in her chair to face me.

“The blushing,” she repeats.

“Yes,” I say, glad she’s finally caught on. “Barry’s been blushing at his phone a lot recently, and–”

“Eddie,” Iris interrupts. “I love you, and I respect your abilities as a Detective, but Barry blushing at his phone doesn’t mean that he’s dating someone. He was probably just excited over some new scientific or technological discovery. Or maybe he was embarrassed over some Flash Fails videos. I’m not sure Barry even has the time to dedicate to a relationship. It’s no wonder he’s always running late with everything he’s been taking onboard recently. Not that Barry Allen ever needs a reason to end up late, but still.

“If I weren’t so busy myself, I’d be trying to get him to slow down for a moment. But with everything with the wedding coming up, and Wally, and work, I haven’t had time to talk to him about any of his problems recently. I’m pretty sure the last time we talked properly semi-alone was Christmas, and we had Leonard Snart eavesdropping at the time. Or at least that’s what Barry mentioned to me after the fact.”

“Why was Snart there?” I ask.

Iris rolls her eyes and turns back to the wedding folder. “I don’t even know. He refused to talk while I was there, and Barry just went along with it like he always does when Snart’s involved. Caitlin did mention that Snart was the reason Team Flash found Mardon and Jesse before there were any casualties, so maybe he tipped Barry off for some reason. Snart probably had some ulterior motive behind it, besides stealing some of Barry’s cocoa.”

I go to question that entire situation, but then the pot starts boiling over, so I switch my attention to it. By the time I’ve got a handle on dinner again, Iris has started asking my opinion on flower arrangements, so I note to ask her about the Barry and Snart thing later. It’s not like that’ll be helpful in figuring out if Barry’s seeing someone anyway.


	3. Bereavement Leave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver pays the CCPD a visit while Barry’s on Bereavement Leave.

**OLIVER**

The elevator doors open, and it takes a total of three seconds before the first whispers of ‘Oliver Queen’ fill the main level of the CCPD. Within ten seconds, Captain David Singh leaves his office to see what the disturbance is, and immediately pales at the sight of me stalking towards one of his detectives, my media friendly smile fixed on my face, despite the scowl that tries to escape instead. Various officers and detectives part for me, some silently staring, others frantically whispering to each other. My target doesn’t seem to notice the disturbance, but his partner does, meeting my presence with an amused raised eyebrow.

“Guess Barr wasn’t lying when he said he was friends with Oliver Queen,” Detective Thawne says.

“Barry’s a terrible liar,” I say conversationally, holding out my hand. “You must be Detective Eddie Thawne, Iris’s fiancé.”

He shakes my hand. “If you’re looking for Barry, he’s on leave.”

“I know. It’s Detective West that I’m here for.”

The man in question looks up and scowls at the sight of me. “Queen.”

“Detective West.”

“What are you doing here?” West asks.

“I’d like a word in private with you if you don’t mind.”

“And if I do mind?” 

“I can wait,” I answer with a patient smile. “But I would like to talk to you before the funeral. It wouldn’t do to make a scene there because you were unwilling to spare five minutes beforehand.”

“I’m busy right now.”

I nod like this is all perfectly acceptable, though I’m sure West sees right through my cordial act. “Of course. I simply thought that if I arrived while you were on break, that you would be available. My mistake.”

West scowls. “Five minutes.”

“That’s all I ask for.”

“_Sure_.”

I feign ignorance to his obvious scepticism. “Would there be somewhere we can talk privately?” I ask, my voice as pleasant as the light of an anglerfish.

“Interrogation Room 3 should be free,” Detective Thawne offers with an amused smile, no doubt sure about who’s going to be interrogating whom.

“Thank you, Detective,” I say, turning back to West. “Shall we, Detective West?”

The esteemed CCPD detective grumbles under his breath about not being paid to deal with this, but I ignore it in favour of not letting my fingers twitch as if reaching for a familiar bow. West leads me to the interrogation room, his scowl deepening when I activate the bug to loop the security cameras. It wouldn’t do to be eavesdropped on after all. While I’m not about to leak confidential information that could get me incarcerated, I don’t trust West to do the same. He’s had a grudge against me since I met Barry, who just happens to be the subject of my visit today.

“Thank you for agreeing to this little chat, Detective West,” I say.

“Cut the act, Queen. Just because Barry isn’t here, doesn’t mean I’ll be your in at this precinct.”

I almost laugh. If I needed information, I’d just get Felicity to hack into the CCPD database, or I’d even do it myself. Barry would sooner give confidential police intel to Leonard Snart than me. Not that the comparison means much lately.

“You misunderstand me,” I say, my voice hardening while my expression stays fixed in my media friendly smile. “I’m not here to request anything of you, let alone the CCPD. I am here to tell you that you need to give Barry some space. I’m speaking from experience when I say that watching an enemy take the life of your parent in order to get to you is not something to be taken lightly. It doesn’t matter whether said enemy is dealt with or not. The guilt alone for an ordinary person would be immense, but for Barry Allen? He’s got the biggest guilt complex I’ve ever seen, and I don’t believe for one second that he isn’t blaming himself for his father’s death, just like he blamed himself for his mother’s and so many others.

“So believe me when I say that I will not hesitate to rain down hell on anyone that tries pushing him right now. If Barry Allen asks for space, you give him space. It doesn’t matter if your every instinct is screaming at you to stay by his side and keep him out of the trap that is his mind. He’s a grown adult. You should trust him to know himself well enough to know his own needs. If you can trust him with the safety of the city, then you can damn well trust him with his own wellbeing. He’ll be far more grateful if you give him the distance he needs until he’s ready to close the gap again.”

West folds his arms. “I’m not going to leave my son alone in a time like this. I didn’t when his mother died, and I–”

“He was a child then,” I point out, my media friendly smile melting away into a protective snarl. “And you’re not the only one here who can claim Barry as family. He’s my little brother, and you can damn well be sure that I’m going to look out for him.”

West takes a subconscious step away from me, which makes taking a breath and looking like Oliver Queen again all the more easier. I hide my satisfied smile by turning to leave.

I pause at the door and switch the cameras back. “Besides, Detective West, just because Barry isn’t with us, doesn’t mean he’s alone.”


	4. Stolen Beers and Misconceptions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lisa and Mick react to finding out that Barry’s the Flash.

**LISA**

“You’re whipped, Snart,” Mick says, standing up and trudging towards Len’s kitchen. “A badge and a mask,” he mutters.

“It was the Cutie that had you blushing back in Christmas, wasn’t it?” I ask, twisting around on the sofa and dropping my feet on Len’s thigh.

He either winces at the stab of my gold-capped high-heeled boots, or at me bringing up the frankly embarrassing moment.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Lise.”

“Spare me, Len. You didn’t fool me then, and you won’t fool me now. You’re damn lucky that Cutie and the Flash are one in the same, or I’d be stringing you up for flirting with your ‘Scarlet’ when you already had Barry.”

“I wasn’t that obvious,” Len says.

I raise an eyebrow.

Len sighs. “Okay, I wasn’t obvious enough that his friends noticed.”

“They must be blind,” Mick says from the kitchen.

“How can a bunch of geniuses be so oblivious?” I ask.

Len looks like he has a list of answers to that question prepared, but he’s still not sure where to start. Knowing Len, it’s probably because he has multiple lists, all at least 20 items long.

“Alright, you make a good point,” I concede before he actually does start the lists, “but what about his family? They should’ve at least noticed.”

My brother scowls. “They haven’t realised either.”

“And you disagree with him not telling them?” I guess.

Len shakes his head. “No, I understand Scarlet’s reasons. I’m pissed that his family haven’t even noticed that he’s in a relationship. The only one who suspected that much was his soon-to-be brother-in-law.”

The fridge slams shut. “What kinda family does Red have that they didn’t notice him changing addresses?” Mick asks.

“He hasn’t– We aren’t–” Len rather pointedly doesn’t look at either of us. “I haven’t asked him to move in yet,” he mumbles.

“You mean you’re not living together?” Mick asks. “You’re an idiot, Snart. You and Red both.”

“Yes, thank you for that, Mick. It’s not like I didn’t realise that when we started this. It’s not like I don’t know that if Barry were with anyone else, he wouldn’t be having these same problems with his family. It’s not like I’m not already aware of how utterly out of my league he is. He’s a fucking superhero, makes a living out of putting people like us behind bars for both his day and night job, and we shouldn’t fit together, but we do, and I’m so far in love with him that I don’t think I’ll be able to let him go. Worse, I think I love him enough that I actually would. So yes, I’m an idiot, but I still wouldn’t change a thing.”

I shift my legs off his lap and snuggle into my big brother’s side. “I don’t think you’re an idiot for loving him, Lenny.”

Mick tosses Len a beer. “Never said you were an idiot for being with Red, Snart. You’re better with him. Brought the Rogues together thanks to Red, didn’t ya? The city’s under our control since you stopped pining and actually made your move.”

“I didn’t,” Len says, “make my move, that is. Not really. That was all Scarlet.”

I grin, pulling back so I can see his expression. “He kissed you first, didn’t he? That’s what got you blushing so much back at Christmas. You weren’t expecting it at all.”

“I had just broken into his house for the second time,” Len says petulantly. “Had to escape via the bloody window,” he mutters.

I laugh. “Oh, Lenny. You’ve got it so bad.”

“You don’t have to tell _me_ that,” Len grouches.

Mick drops into his armchair. “So when’d you tell Red?”

Len tries to hide behind my shoulder, but I don’t let him.

“C’mon, big brother. When’d the two of you say the big three?”

“We haven’t,” he mumbles.

“Idiots,” Mick declares.

“Hopeless,” I add, before taking pity on Len. “A perfect match then. You can be hopeless idiots together.”

Len gives me a genuine smile, almost immediately hiding it by downing his beer. “I am so screwed.”

I pat his back. “Yep. If it’s any help, I’m pretty sure he’s just as head over heels for you.”

Len goes as red as he did back at Christmas. My little sister duties are done then. Well, until I can have a little chat with the Cutie that is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will freely say that I don't know if gold-capped high-heeled boots are a thing, but if they are, then I'm pretty sure Lisa would have a pair.


	5. Some Space

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iris and Eddie get back from their honeymoon to Barry having moved out and nobody knowing where to.

**IRIS**

Leave it to Dad to get this worked up about his adult foster son moving out. Eddie’s already proving to be the best husband ever by trying to calm Dad down while I figure out what Barry’s new address even is. Apparently, any hacking attempts have been shut down already, not that I think going that far was entirely necessary. I’m sure that with a little persuasion, Barry will be more than happy to tell me where his new place is. And whether he’s even living alone, as Eddie questioned. I’m not sure who Barry would move in with though. The only friend unaccounted for would be Snart, and I doubt those two would live together.

I doubt even their bizarre friendship would go that far.

Besides, it wouldn’t make sense for Barry to move out because he needs some space only to get a roommate. Unless he was just saying that to Dad to prevent more arguments. Those two haven’t exactly been getting along lately. I’m sure it’ll cool over eventually, but I don’t doubt that getting some space from Dad in particular played a big role in all of this. Hopefully, now that Barry has it, things will get better between them. I can’t see the two of them being in this state of not-fighting for much longer. They care for each other too much for that. Plus, this is Barry; he’s entirely too forgiving. Unless Dad does something truly disastrous, they’ll be back to normal in no time at all.

Barry is late to coffee at Jitters, but that just gives me time to work on my latest story, so it’s no trouble. I put my laptop away when he arrives.

“Sorry, I had a meeting with Captain Singh,” Barry says, slumping into his chair and gulping the coffee I ordered him.

“On the weekend?”

Barry winces and pushes the coffee away. Too hot then.

“Wasn’t as a CSI,” he explains.

“No? What was it for then?”

Barry blows on his coffee. “You’ll see. There should be an announcement for it once everything’s gone through. Will definitely make headlines.”

“The good kind or the bad kind?”

He shrugs. “I’d call it good news, but most people won’t. There’ll probably be a backlash.”

“And you won’t give me a clue?”

“Joe won’t like it.” Barry’s smile is pained. “Actually, I’m pretty sure you won’t like it either. But it was the right choice, so it’ll be worth all the yelling.”

“Okay, now I definitely am curious, but you know that’s not why I wanted to talk to you today.”

Barry huffs. “I swear, between you and Len, I’m never able to deflect conversations these days.”

I frown. “Did you seriously just try to deflect by talking about doing exactly that?”

“Yep.”

“Wow, Barry, you really do need to up your game.”

He groans. “I know.”

“So what’d Dad do that made you move out?” I ask, getting right to the point.

“What makes you think that he did something?”

I give Barry my best unimpressed stare. “I’m not an idiot.”

Barry sips his coffee. “It wasn’t one particular thing.”

“Bullshit.”

“It wasn’t!”

I raise my eyebrow. “Do you really think I’m going to believe that rubbish Bartholomew Henry Allen?”

Barry sighs and stares at his coffee. I let him have his moment of pause, if only because I can tell that he’s already decided to tell me.

“Joe doesn’t trust my judgement. He seems to think that he knows best when it comes to every single person in my life, even though he can’t see through his own prejudices against… I get that he’s done some really bad things in the past, but he’s not _evil_, and Joe can’t seem to see that. He’s a better person than he was when we met, and it’s not like he does all of it to hurt people, well, not good people.” Barry’s expression turns bitter. “I don’t know why I’m bothering to explain this to you. You don’t approve of him either.”

“I may not approve of Snart, but I’m done questioning your weird friendship. That said, is he really worth this situation with Dad?”

The look Barry gives me very much says yes, and I really hope that Snart values him the same amount, or I’ll be having words with that man.

“Is he the reason you moved out then?” I ask.

Barry gulps the rest of his coffee. His face turning red from the heat. “Joe might’ve tried saying that so long as I lived under his roof, he somehow got a say in who my friends are. Len was more than willing to help me move out.”

“You’re telling me that Snart knows where you live, but I don’t get to know?”

“It’s not like that,” Barry is quick to assure me. “It was just easier to store my stuff at his apartment until I found somewhere close to Star Labs.”

Eddie’s theory that Barry might not be living alone pops into my mind.

I shake my head. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you moved in with Snart of all people.”

“His couch is pretty comfy, but I don’t think I’d want to sleep there every night.”

And that’s more information about Leonard Snart’s apartment than I ever wanted or needed to know.

“Stayed the night there before, have you?” I ask.

Barry grins. “Once or twice.”

I roll my eyes. “Okay then, Mr I-have-sleepovers-with-supervillains, what was the meeting with the Police Captain about?”

“No comment.”

“C’mon, Barr. Think of the story.”

“Exactly. No comment.”

“You’re a terrible source.”

“Just think about it, Iris. Every other reporter in Central City won’t have a clue that the CCPD’s next announcement is going to be front page material. But you do. If anything, you should thank me.”

“For telling me?”

Barry’s smile grows. “For making it happen. Because trust me, you won’t be thinking of thanking me after you hear that announcement.”

I narrow my eyes. “Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome.”

I honestly wouldn’t put it past Barry for this announcement to be nothing important at all. Or for it to stay on the front page for a week. You never know when it comes to Barry. It’s only after he’s left for a Flash emergency that I realise he never actually told me his new address. Ah well. I’ll figure it out another time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've finally figured out all the 'moments' from the previous two parts that I'll cover in this fic, so hopefully, that'll mean faster chapter turnarounds. In fact, if you want a rough timeline (more of an order of chapters) of the series, I've put it below. I wonder if anyone can guess what perspectives each chapter of Moments will be from. Some are a little more obvious from their names than others. 
> 
> 24/5/20 Edit: I've moved the ItHH timeline to the series notes.


	6. Sisterly Duties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lisa schedules her chat with Barry for after Len’s pardon.

**LISA**

I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t think Len would ever end up with some so _good_. Kind, maybe, but good in the way of an impressive moral compass and actions that stick to it that just makes you want to be a better person, not really. That’s what Barry Allen is when it comes down to it. Good. From what I’ve seen, he’s also good for Len. Judging from the minor meltdowns my big brother’s had over his precious Scarlet, Len is definitely going to be keeping him around. But I didn’t know for sure that the Cutie wanted Len just as much until I watched the Flash get him an official pardon for that mess with Dad.

Now, I can’t really delay my little talk with Cutie. I need to hear it straight from him just how much he wants to stay with Len before I can give him the little sister tick of approval. I wait until Len’s out with Mick before stopping by their apartment. It wouldn’t do for him to get it in his head that he needs to protect his Scarlet from me after all. Besides, it’ll be easier to concentrate on whether the Cutie is lying when I’m not having to filter out most of his attention being on Len. While that in itself is a good sign, I am not risking my brother’s heart on this badge waking up one day and realising that it was all some huge mistake.

I open the door without knocking and watch the Cutie glance up from his laptop on the kitchen bench. He holds up a finger, keeps typing for a moment, and then shuts the laptop before looking up at me properly.

“Hey, Lisa,” he says, standing up.

I eye his laptop. “What were you working on? Secret superhero business?”

“Huh? Oh, no. Running Star Labs financials actually. Our contract with the CCPD only just balances out our costs, and I’m trying to figure out which research grants I could apply to that we’d have time to complete the requisite study for.”

“You really are a giant nerd, aren’t you?”

Cutie shrugs. “I own a science and technology lab. What’d you expect?”

“From what Lenny tells me, eating more food while you work,” I say.

“I had a sandwich about twenty minutes ago,” Cutie admits, rubbing his neck. “Len texted me to eat because he knew that I’d get too caught up in my work to remember.”

“Of course he did. Telling Len not to care is like telling a thief not to steal.”

Cutie laughs. “Both apply to him there.” He rocks back on his feet, looking every bit the awkward nerd that Len once claimed he’d never go for. “Len’s out by the way, if you were looking for him.”

“Oh, I know.”

Cutie frowns for a moment. “You’re here to see me then?”

“Don’t sound so uncertain. Why wouldn’t I want to see you?”

“You didn’t seem all too interested in talking to me when we first met,” he says.

I smile. “Yes, but that’s because I thought you were just another Star Labs nerd back then. Now, you’re dating and living with my big brother.”

“And I’m the Flash.”

“And you could put my family behind bars before we could even blink.”

Cutie shakes his head. “I wouldn’t do that. Well, not under normal circumstances. If one of you killed someone or set out to hurt people, that’d be a different matter.”

“I know. You wouldn’t have pardoned Lenny if this was all some ploy to get him a life sentence.”

“You don’t sound like you believe that,” Cutie says.

I shrug. “Staying suspicious keeps me alive. It’s not like I don’t want to trust you. I do. Len’s been happier lately than I can remember him ever being. Obviously, that’s because of you. But it’s my job to make sure that you don’t throw that away through some misguided attempt to change Len, or because you overestimated your willingness to look past just how much we enjoy being the best thieves in Central City.”

Cutie snorts. “You’re going to have to better than that if you want to beat your brother. He used to send me daily texts about why our relationship was a terrible idea after I finally got it through his head that I wanted to be with him. Trust me; I’ve considered every single reason why I shouldn’t want to be with one Leonard Snart. Yet here I am, living with one of my villains and never more at home. Would it be easier for me to not love Len? Sure. But even if I could choose to take it all back, I never would. I’m not going to betray him. I don’t want to know what it’d do to me if he killed someone, but I trust that he wouldn’t do it for the hell of it. That hasn’t been Len since I challenged him to do better long before we were even friends.”

I scan Cutie’s body language for lying and smile at the result. “You love him?”

He blushes but nods resolutely anyway. “I do.”

I narrow my eyes. Cutie only relaxes, going as far as to grin like he’s the happiest man in the world.

“Okay,” I say.

“Okay?”

“You’ll do.”

Cutie laughs. “You Snarts are terrible at acting like you don’t care.”

“Like I said, telling us not to care is like telling us not to steal.”

“A hopeless endeavour then,” Cuties says.

I hold up his phone. “Definitely.”

Cuties shakes his head. “You swiped that on your way in. I only let you because I didn’t want to ruin your shovel talk.” He holds out his hand. “I’ll be needing that.”

I smirk and toss it to the other side of the room. Cutie disappears in a streak of lightning and reappears with his phone.

“Thank you,” he says.

I still can’t believe that Lenny scored himself a superhero. I approve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's see if I can finish this fic with daily updates.


	7. Pizza with the Enemy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cisco stumbles onto Barry having pizza with the Snarts and Mick.

**CISCO**

_Do you want to join us? _

What was I meant to say? Sure, Barry, let me just join you eating pizza with the enemy. I’ve always wanted to cosy up with a group of people who’ve tried to kill me in the past. Why don’t you just budge over, Captain Cold? You’re practically cuddling with the Flash in that booth already. It’s not like you’d mind sharing his space a bit more. What was that Heatwave? Oh, yes, I do like my pizza spicy. No, that doesn’t mean I want you to set it on literal fire. Don’t worry, Golden Glider, I totally forgive you for using me so that your brother could find about my good buddy’s secret identity. Turns out that Cold being decent enough to keep it hidden from even his family doesn’t matter because Barry’s gone ahead and become friends with all of you anyway.

No, I don’t want to join you. I can’t believe Barry asked me that. We can’t all be benevolent all forgiving beings like Barry Best Buddies with Criminals Allen.

These days, it doesn’t feel like I know Barry at all. Hanging out with villains like they’ve never tried to kill him before, getting Cold pardoned because the man somehow convinced Barry that the two of them are friends, and bringing him in on Team Flash business outside of that deal they made. Sure, Cold was helpful with Zoom, but that’s only because he spends so much time trying to stop speedsters, Barry in particular. I don’t get how he can just trust someone like that. Does everything that Cold’s done to all of us mean nothing to him? Or does everything fall under the Barry Allen forgiveness umbrella?

I wish Barry would just see how much Cold has been pulling him away from his real friends. The last thing I want is for him to be hurt, but it’d be better for that to happen sooner than later, before Cold gets his claws in so deep that Barry can’t even see what’s right in front of him. If Barry could just see that we’re all trying to protect him, instead of going after his new best friend, then maybe we’d actually have a chance to make him see reason. I don’t want to have to wait for when Cold inevitably kills someone again to find out whether Barry will be all too willing to sweep that under the rug or not.

Is it so bad that I just want my friend back?

Being completely reasonable about Cold shouldn’t have been enough to push him away, and yet here we are. Barry barely tells anyone what he does outside of CCPD and Flash business these days. He gave us zero warning for that pardon fiasco, got way too defensive over his change in address, and is apparently hanging out with killers and thieves on the regular. I might’ve been caught in Lisa Snart’s web once, but at least I knew to back off after being betrayed. Barry on the other hand just ignores all of the proof that he shouldn’t trust Snart and sticks to his side like he’s some redemption project.

At this point, I wouldn’t even be surprised if Barry just straight up joins the Rogues, never mind that they’re the bad guys or that he’s meant to be a superhero. Heroes aren’t meant to be hanging out with villains in their free time. Never mind that. Barry works for the CCPD! He could lose his job over this. Did he even bother to inform his boss that he can’t take Rogue-related cases? Or has he been messing with the evidence on those just so he can keep fighting his favourite villains as the Flash? Barry already wiped Cold’s record as part of one of their endless deals. What’s stopping Cold from thinking that he can get away with even bigger favours now that they’re such close friends?

Barry already got the freaking Arrow to back off with a few careful words. At this rate nobody’s going to be left to make the speedster see reason.

Caitlin just seems mostly resigned to let them be these days, but even she doesn’t pretend to understand how those two could get along so well. Harry was no help whatsoever while he was here, more focussed on dealing with Zoom than anything else. Eddie has barely had to be around the two of them much, which is probably why he’s the least bothered, despite being part of the CCPD’s meta taskforce. Joe at least understands the problem, while Iris grudgingly accepts it. As more time passes without Barry seeing reason, everyone except Joe and me seem to be accepting it more and more.

No matter how many people are convinced, I’m not giving up on saving my best friend from Cold’s games until I can be absolutely certain that Barry is safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Cisco saw how close Barry and Len were. No, it still didn't click.


	8. Wedding Ring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie tells Joe and Iris about Barry’s new ring.

**EDDIE**

Barry is definitely wearing a wedding ring. On one hand, I feel like I should be congratulating him on his marriage, but on the other, he just pushed the telling Joe and Iris duty onto me, and I don’t actually know who he married, so I’m going to hold back on the congratulations for a little while. I’m not even sure how exactly I’m meant to tell Joe and Iris that Barry’s wearing a wedding ring, without making it very obvious what it symbolises. I don’t wish their combined questioning on anyway, but I’m also not facing their combined fury if I tell one and not the other.

No wonder Barry was so panicked. Whoever he’s been in a secret relationship with, which I so called by the way, they better be worth all the chaos that’s sure to follow from keeping his family and friends in the dark. I’m sure if I just thought about it, I’d be able to figure out who Barry has married, but then I’d have to pass those findings onto Joe and Iris, and that just seems like something Barry should tell them himself. I don’t really have the right to tell others that information without Barry’s permission. I’m sure he has a really good reason for the secrecy, and I’ll have to respect that.

First things first, I text Iris to come to the precinct for her lunch break. She doesn’t question it, thankfully, and I can escape into work for the last few hours of peace on Earth. Okay, so maybe it won’t be _that_ bad. But considering Barry’s knack for having enormous secrets in the past, like being a literal superhero, and now concealing a relationship long enough to get married, I don’t doubt that whoever Barry’s risked the wrath of the Wests for, is going to end up being more of a point of contention than the secret relationship part. Again, a name edges into the corner of my mind, but I shove it back. I don’t want to know.

Joe knows that something is up with me, yet I’m able to tactically distract him with the case. Shoving the case folder into his face at one point probably wasn’t all that subtle, but my ears have started to tune into the second-hand on the clock, and the pressure is getting to me. They do not prepare you for this at the Police Academy. Family disputes seem so much easier when you’re not watching your own family crash towards one in slow motion with zero hope of averting the entire matter. For a second, I’m angry at Barry for allowing this situation to happen, but this is _Barry_, and he’s been really happy lately with whoever he has fallen in love with, so I’m hardly going to stay mad at him.

“What’s got you jumpier than a junkie waiting for his next hit?” Joe asks.

I only jump out of my chair a little. “Nothing,” I lie smoothly. “Nothing’s really new about me lately, Joe. What about you? How have you been?”

Joe gives me his ‘I don’t believe your bullshit’ look. “You haven’t been this nervous around me since you and Iris came clean about your relationship. She’s not pregnant already, is she?”

“No!” I shout, wincing at everyone turning to look at me. “No,” I say a little quieter. “At least, not that I know of. It’s unlikely, but nothing’s really 100%–”

“I am going to stop you right there before I find out more about my little girl than I ever want to know.”

I gulp. “Right. Sorry. Iris isn’t pregnant.”

“Then why else is she stopping by for lunch today?”

I stare at him in shock. “How did you know that?”

“She just walked out of the elevator,” Joe says, laughing at me.

I don’t bury my face in my desk in embarrassment. I’m a Homicide Detective who investigates deaths related to literal superpowers. I can handle two Wests.

Just maybe not these ones. Barry so owes me for this.

Iris greets me with a kiss and a smile. It’s almost enough to calm me down, but then I remember why she’s here, and I tense up all over again.

“What’s wrong?” Iris asks.

“He’s been like this all morning,” Joe says. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say that the new CSI set him off, but it wasn’t until he came back from talking with Barry…”

“You might want to sit down,” I say to Iris, mainly because I don’t need her looming over me when she’s about to get angry.

Iris doesn’t sit.

“What’s Barr gotten himself into now?” she asks.

I lean a little further back into my chair as if that will somehow protect me.

“Nothing bad,” I say. “Depending on your perspective,” I add before I can tell my mouth that it’s a terrible idea.

“This isn’t one of your insane ideas that Barry’s dating someone, is it?” Iris asks, and I really wish I could hide my reactions better from her because she laughs. “Eddie, Barry isn’t seeing anyone. We would know.”

“He’s wearing a ring!” I blurt out. “Not that it necessarily means anything. I mean I did ask him about it, and he didn’t exactly say that it was a wedding ring, but he didn’t exactly say that it wasn’t a wedding ring either.”

Joe frowns. “If this is your idea of a joke,” he starts.

I roll my chair back until it hits my desk. “It isn’t. A joke, I mean. I wouldn’t joke about something like this.”

“A wedding ring,” Iris says, her ire so great that it doesn’t seep into her words one bit.

“I can neither confirm nor deny that the ring is allegedly a wedding one,” I say.

Iris gives me a look that promises trouble if I don’t answer her next question clearly.

“Is Barry wearing a ring on his left hand ring finger? Yes or no?”

I longingly stare at the elevator and any chance of escape blocked by two Wests.

“Yes,” I eventually say.

Saying that Joe is pissed would be like calling a speedster fast. It is technically accurate, but it’s also grossly understating the truth of the matter.

“BARTHELOMEW HENRY ALLEN!”

I really hope this isn’t one of those kill the messenger situations. It’s been a nice life, all things considered. I’d hoped for a longer one, I’ll admit, but if I’m doomed then I might as well go out without complaints. That said, Barry doesn’t get any of my stuff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eddie is canonically awkward with personal confrontations. I might've enjoyed teasing him a little too much in this chapter.


	9. There’s a having a weird relationship with your villains, and there’s Barry Allen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity stumbles onto Barry’s secret and faces the talk with Oliver.

**FELICITY**

Barry’s a friend. Barry’s a really good friend. Barry’s like the best fellow nerd-friend I’ve ever had, which is why I hesitate. But only a little. Because Barry has this really bad habit. I’m kind of grateful for it because otherwise he would’ve been a lot angrier about Oliver trying to kill him immediately after Barry saved his life, and that’s just not the level of forgiveness a normal person would show. I also wish that he weren’t so forgiving to the point that he’s gone ahead and done this. Because I kind of am obligated to tell Oliver, and he is not going to take it well, so I’ve definitely been hesitating a little until I know for absolute sure that this isn’t some ploy.

But no. It’s real. Barry really married one of his villains.

And now I get to tell one of the most over-protective people on the planet.

Great.

Oliver must notice that I have something important to tell him, which I really don’t want to actually tell him, but definitely will anyway, because when he approaches me in full Arrow-regalia, he stops mid-stride and folds his arms.

“What is it?” he asks.

There really is no point trying not to respond to that tone.

“So, you know how Barry has a teeny tiny problem with being too nice to his villains?”

Oliver scowls. “What’s he done with Snart now?”

“Funny you mention him because I have this program running to alert me when multiple Rogues meet up in public, and it might’ve pinged on Sunday.”

“Let me guess; Barry was out with the Snarts and Rory again.”

“About that. I’m pretty sure, like about 100% certain, that Barry kind of sort of married Leonard Snart. I didn’t want to tell you until I was positive, but I’ve known since Sunday that they’re together because I have CCTV footage of them kissing on the steps in front of the Central City Courthouse.”

Comprehension spreads over Oliver’s expression for a moment.

“What was that?” I ask.

“What was what, Felicity?”

“That look just now. You realised something, didn’t you? You’ve seen them being couple-y before but didn’t know what it meant until now. Don’t hold back on the details, Oliver. I need to know how I missed this.”

“It’s probably nothing.”

“Nothing’s nothing. It must’ve been something for you to go all dawning realisationing.”

Oliver sits down and threads his hands together. “I just recalled a moment I couldn’t find a reason for when I last visited Central City.”

“You mean when you tried to skewer Captain Cold with an arrow?”

“Yes, then,” Oliver says, not sounding at all regretful for this. “While Barry was protecting him, and Snart was searching his jacket for the tracker, the thief smirked suddenly. At first, I thought he had found the tracker, but it took him another several seconds before he did. I could never explain the reason until now.”

“Well? Don’t leave me hanging.”

Oliver smiles, more amused than anything. “I think that Barry must have kissed him.”

“But surely you would’ve noticed, unless…”

Oh.

“Barry totally kissed him at superspeed, didn’t he?” I ask. “And for Cold to smirk would mean that Barry’s done it enough times to recognise the feeling. That is actually kind of adorable. That it’s between Barry and a literal supervillain less so, but when you put that aside, they’re kind of cute together.”

“I’m still going to have to talk to Barry about not mentioning it when he got in a relationship with one of his villains,” Oliver says.

“I’m coming with you. We wouldn’t want Barry to think you were trying to attack his husband, right?”

Oliver puts his bow down. “Right. It’ll just be Oliver Queen visiting Central, not the Arrow.”

That went better than expected. Better being that I’m pretty sure Oliver is still going armed, but at least it won’t be visible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was one of the first chapters that I wrote for Moments. I think I found the right balance of Oliver being protective, amused, and mostly resigned.


	10. West vs West

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joe and Iris argue about Barry’s marriage.

**JOE**

My son is married. No. It has to be an act somehow. Barry would never have gone and married Snart, let alone without telling anyone. This has to be some sort of nightmare, one that lasts for days with no end in sight. Barry wouldn’t have chosen someone like Snart. My Barry would never. This is a trick. An elaborate ploy at work where Barry has once again decided to work with Snart to stop another villain. Or on the more likely side, this is Snart once again manipulating Barry. That murderer is going to betray Barry all over again. He no doubt found out about Barry’s misplaced feelings for him and took advantage.

I doubt Barry really loves the man. He’s just gotten carried away in his bid to convince everyone that there’s good in Snart again. It’s not real. It can’t be.

Iris slams the front door open hard enough that I almost ask if she hurt her hand, but her look of absolute fury holds my tongue.

“What’s got you so worked up?” I ask her, as she slams the door behind her with just as much force.

She stalks towards me, her fists clenched. “What the hell were you thinking? Were you even thinking? Wait, no, I don’t want to know the answer if it doesn’t involve a convenient meta mind controlling you. I can’t believe you would just do that to Barry without a care in the world for the possible consequences.”

“Barry? What do you think I did–?”

“You really have to ask? Do you not remember outing his secret identity to Wally without bothering to check if Barry was okay with it? And not because it was an emergency, no, but because it just helped you in your little war against Barry’s happiness. Or–”

“I’m not against Barry’s happiness. Why would you even think that, Iris?”

Iris brings her hand up to her chin as if thinking about it, but the glare she can’t get rid of only serves to emphasise her sarcastic anger. “Gee, I wonder what you could’ve done to make me think that, Dad. _Maybe_, it had something to do with you blatantly choosing to believe that Barry’s marriage to one Leonard Allen né Snart was meant as a personal insult to you rather than one of the happiest moments in your so-called son’s life. I may not be particularly happy about having the villain for a brother-in-law, but at least I’ve been making an effort to accept him on Barry’s behalf. That’s made a lot easier by seeing just how in love those two are.”

“Snart couldn’t possibly love Barry,” I point out reasonably.

Iris looks about ready to tear me apart with her bare hands. “Did you seriously just say that? What, do you think that nobody could love Barry to the point of wanting to marry him?”

“That’s not what I–” 

“No, no. I’m not even going to go there with you right now because that way lays a whole lot more than I’m prepared to deal with without significantly more preparation, so I don’t have to be arrested for homicide.”

I sigh. “You’re overreacting.”

“Oh, I’m the one overreacting now? Do you even see yourself, Dad, or are you so caught up in this fake world you’ve created for yourself where everything goes the exact way you want that you’ve lost contact with reality?”

“It’s not insane to believe, to know, that Snart isn’t doing this because he and Barry are actually in love. That’s absurd.”

“Have you actually seen them?” Iris asks. “Because this was never a question of if they love each other. That much is obvious. Those two have been making out-of-character exceptions for each other since they first met. I wasn’t surprised when they at least admitted that they were friends, and I figured out that Len was Barry’s husband because those two are so obvious when the other is so much as mentioned let alone in the same room. The fact that none of us figured it out before they put a ring on it is the true miracle. I’m still pissed at Barry, don’t get me wrong, but I’m even more frustrated by how blindsided you’re acting.”

This is ridiculous. I can’t believe that Snart has somehow convinced another one of my kids into defending him.

I say as much to Iris, my reasonable tone admittedly long gone.

She throws her hands into the air with a loud scream. I wisely take a step back.

“Iris, think about this for a moment. Snart knows that he already has Barry in his pocket, and now he’s going after those closest to Barry, so that we won’t be able to make him see the reality of the situation.”

My daughter looks at me with something that might be pity, if it weren’t for the still simmering rage. “You really can’t see it, can you? The way those two are around each other, how genuine it all is. You’re so stuck on Len being some stereotypical bad guy that you can’t see how much he absolutely adores Barry. I’m not sure that it’d click even if you saw those two interact when Eddie and I had them over for dinner. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone fit so perfectly with Barry, and I say this in full confidence as his best friend and sister. If you would just get over yourself, you’d be the first to join me in teasing them over how adorable those two are. But no, you’ve decided, _like always_, that you know best when it comes to your kids. You can’t accept that you’re wrong. You’d see Leonard Allen falling over backwards to help his husband and still think he’s trying to manipulate Barry.” Iris scoffs. “It’s a wonder you’re a detective considering how blinded you are by your own prejudices.”

“This isn’t a case of prejudice, Iris. Snart is a criminal.”

“Last I checked, his record was clean.”

“That’s only because he tricked Barry into–”

“No,” Iris interrupts, sighing. “But I’m not going to explain that to you right now, not when you’re unwilling to listen.” She raises her chin. “Instead, I’m going to go back to my original point. What the hell were you thinking? How _dare_ you shout out that Barry married Len in the middle of a precinct filled with people who hate the thief? Were you trying to get Barry killed? Or did you just forget for a second how many people have a grudge on Len? If I didn’t know better, I’d say that you wanted Barry to get harassed by cops and the public alike. Because that’s what has been happening to him, Dad. You think your disapproval is the worst of it? Think again. Your decision to just blurt it out like that has driven my brother to tears, multiple times.

“The only thing that has kept a livid Captain Cold from freezing your ass is the fact that it’d just upset his husband more. A man you so happily call a murdering criminal has more self-restraint than you do. What’s that tell you about your behaviour lately? But, no. I don’t want to hear your answer. You can save your excuses for the one who’s been hurt the most by all of this. Because if you don’t apologise to Barry soon, and I mean really apologise, including an honest effort to reconcile with his husband, then you’re going to find yourself out of his life. If Barry can’t bring himself to shut you out himself, then I’m more than willing to do it for him. Grow up, Dad. Family doesn’t always make choices that you’ll approve of. That doesn’t make those choices any less valid.”

I open my mouth to defend myself, but Iris turns on her heel and stalks back out of the house.

She pauses at the door. “I hope Barr forgives you one day. But if he doesn’t because you haven’t made enough of an effort, then I’m more than willing to cut you out of my life too.”

Iris slams the door closed behind her before I can think of a response.

Can she really not see what Snart has done to our family? It’s like he’s been mind controlling Barry somehow, and Iris just can’t see it.

Wait a moment.

I’m such an idiot. How could I forget about the most obvious reason behind all of this? Roy Bivolo! Barry must’ve been whammied by Bivolo. That’s why he’s convinced himself that he loves Snart. It’s all fake. Barry’s going to be so relieved that I figured this out once we reverse the effects. Just how long has been living like this, stuck with Snart because his emotions don’t know any better? It’s alright now. I’ll talk to Caitlin and Cisco, and we’ll fix Barry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing Joe’s perspective was harder than I expected, mainly because I was trying to balance keeping him in character and not smacking him over the head for choosing to be ignorant over confronting his mistakes.


	11. Boycotting Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wally, Iris, and Eddie talk about Joe’s secret spilling.

**WALLY**

I kind of wish that the worst of the West Family Drama was still Mum not telling anyone that I existed and Dad telling Iris that Mum was dead. At least that way, anything else that came up would pale in comparison. But apparently my new foster brother is both the Flash and married to Captain Cold. Barry doesn’t do things halfway. I can’t even be slightly mad at the guy considering how devastated he looked from Dad spilling the beans to just me, let alone how we must’ve felt after Dad and two of his closest friends tried staging an intervention about his new husband. That’s just all kinds of not right.

But that led me to here, at Iris and Eddie’s place on a night that we’re meant to have dinner at Dad’s as some big family thing. I’m glad that we’re not there though. I don’t really want to see Iris and Dad get into a massive shouting match. And I definitely don’t want to be spending time alone with Dad right now. I’m still annoyed at him for trying to use me to get at Barry. Sure, I’d have liked to have been told that Barry was the Flash a little sooner, but I get that it was Barry’s right to tell me, not Dad’s. I’m pretty sure I never told Barry congratulations on his marriage in that mess either. I’ll be sure to mention it later. I don’t understand why he’d Captain Cold as his husband, but they’ve probably gotten to know each other through the whole superhero and supervillain thing.

Iris is cursing Dad pretty creatively while Eddie serves dinner. Apparently, one of Barry’s friends at STAR Labs, Dr Snow, told Iris about the intervention soon after Barry and his husband left for another Earth. It’s pretty unreal that other Earths are a thing and that it’s something my family just mentions in casual conversation. I wonder how hard it was for them to keep all of this from me, but I don’t ask. After everything’s settled with Barry’s relationship, I’ll bring out my list of questions. Now really isn’t the time to start complaining about being left out.

“Caitlin was only doing it to humour Dad, of course,” Iris says, pausing to thank Eddie for cooking. “She at least noticed that Barry’s been treating Len differently from his other villains from the start.”

Eddie hums in agreement, taking his seat. “Joe complained several times about Barry being all too willing to forgive Len. It’s obvious for us when we look back now that we’ve seen them interact, but Joe hasn’t really seen Len drop the Cold act yet.”

“He doesn’t have to drop the act to flirt with Barr though,” Iris points out.

I’m pretty sure I could contribute more to this if I’d actually met Captain Cold, but I don’t really know if I want to. For Barry’s sake, I would, sure, but it’s _Captain Cold_. He’s kind of terrifying. It’s hard to imagine Barry of all people marrying him. Then again, the supervillain did apparently make that Official Flash Fails channel. Not only does he have a sense of humour, but there was that tribute video that made Barry cry, which makes so much more sense now. It’s weird to think that Captain Cold would make that sweet of a gesture to the Flash, but Barry’s a good guy without the added powers. He deserves someone who loves him enough to do something like that, even if that someone happens to be a real life supervillain.

“But why’s Dad so angry at Barry?” I ask because I haven’t been able to figure that one out. “Everyone else seems to be handling him keeping his relationship secret a lot better.”

Iris sighs. “Dad thinks he’s protecting Barry. He’s gotten it into his head that he knows exactly what’s best for Barr, and he thinks that marrying Leonard Snart is the opposite of that. Once upon a time, I would’ve believed him, but it’s pretty easy to see that those two love each other equally. It’s not a one sided thing where either of them are being taken advantage of. They’re actually really sweet together. Problem is, Dad can’t get his head out of his ass for long enough to see that.”

“Iris!” Eddie scolds.

She shrugs. “What? It’s true.”

“There are better ways to put it,” Eddie says.

“Fine. How do you see it then?” Iris asks.

Eddie leans back. “Joe has always had high expectations for his kids. You’ve both experienced that firsthand, of course.”

I roll my eyes. “Wish I didn’t.”

“But Barry’s different. Not because he isn’t Joe’s biological son, but because Barry hasn’t really gone through any sort of rebellion phase.”

“Didn’t he run away a bunch as a kid?” I ask.

Iris nods. “Yeah, Barry started out with the rebellion phase.”

“But that was grief,” Eddie points out. “Rightly not believing that his dad murdered his mum and acting out at the start was all fuelled by grief, and Barry’s anger that nobody would believe him. To Joe, Barry never had a rebellion phase. Being friends with a criminal, and then revealing that he’d been in a secret relationship with the man to the point of pretty much eloping, doesn’t fit in Joe’s view of who Barry is.”

“He thinks this is Barry rebelling?” I confirm. “But Barry was devastated at Joe’s reaction. He seemed like he’d fall to pieces at any moment.”

Iris bites her lip. “Should I have called him?”

“I’m sure that Len had it under control,” Eddie assures her. “All we can do now is be there for Barry and try to convince Joe that the only thing that’s going to end badly if he keeps pushing will be his and Barry’s relationship. After painting a target on Barry’s back by telling the entire precinct about his marriage with Len, I’m not sure that those two will ever be as close as they used to be. The intervention might have been enough to ensure that. I hope I’m wrong, of course, but there’s only so much that Barry will be able to take before he closes himself off to Joe forever.”

“But isn’t forgiveness Barry’s thing?” I ask.

“To the point of being a doormat,” Iris mutters, shaking her head. “I hope he holds out longer with Dad. Having the family fighting like this sucks, but I’m all for it if it means that Dad won’t pull something like this with Barry, or any of us, again. I just wish he would’ve learned his lesson when he kept trying to break me and Eddie up.”

“Maybe things will only get better from now,” I say, even though I don’t believe it.

Iris and Eddie both look at me like they hear my doubt, but they don’t mention it. Dad did drive Barry to leave this universe to escape him after all. This time it might only be for a weekend, but what happens if Dad escalates? I’m not sure if I’m more worried about what Iris or Captain Cold would do in retaliation. Wait, if Barry’s the Flash, then does that mean he knows other heroes and vigilantes as well? I’m pretty sure I saw him team up with the Arrow before. Barry’s supervillain husband is going to be the least of Dad’s problems if he doesn’t realise his mistakes soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wally’s almost like a complete outsider perspective here considering he was never brought into Team Flash in this AU thanks to the lack of Flashpoint. It was fun to write him having faith in Barry while still being terrified of Len because of his reputation.


	12. Botched Job

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity tries to figure out if Barry’s kidnapping was meant to fail.

**FELICITY**

So apparently having a supervillain for a husband means you get kidnapped. I thought that it was heroes’ loved ones that got targeted, but Barry, like always, managed to prove that wrong. At least it wasn’t a good kidnapping. As far as attempted jobs go, it was barely a two according to Barry, but it’s still worrying. Barry Allen’s meant to be the safe half of his double life. If anyone should be targeted, it should be the Flash, but thanks to a certain Detective, who Oliver’s going to have to have another talk with, public interest in Barry’s life has skyrocketed.

Maybe I could spare a little time and hack into the CCPD so that I can get a little payback. But no, I’m not allowed to interfere with police business unless it’s part of my duties as Overwatch. It’s not like I’d get in the way of the detective’s cases. I’d just leave some friendly reminders around that he doesn’t deserve one bit of Barry Allen’s trust if he’s so quick to use it against him in arguments. Okay, it wouldn’t be that detailed, or non-threatening, but that’d be how I justify it to Oliver.

It’s not like he can talk. He almost hopped right back on his bike and rode out to Central after social media blew up over Captain Cold marrying a CSI. Only a reminder that we had urgent matters to deal with here kept Oliver in Star City. I’m pretty sure I caught him muttering over getting one of those extrapolators from Star Labs so that he could drop out in the middle of the CCPD and give Detective West another lecture, this time from the Arrow. I think he was joking, but I sent a message to Cisco about it anyway.

It’d be pretty bad if Oliver ended up linking Barry to someone else in the vigilante/hero/villain business. I don’t even want to think about how many more times that might get Barry kidnapped. The once was one too many. And this one still doesn’t sit right with me. It’s just that…

It seemed like a test.

The entire thing seemed like a setup to see how fast Cold would respond if Barry was taken. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have made it so easy for Barry to escape without help. He might be a CSI, but he still works for the police, which means that he’s trained for things like these. If someone actually wanted to kidnap Barry and keep him that way, they wouldn’t have gone about it that way. Barry said himself that it seems like this kidnapper was working for someone else. I need to determine the motives of the person behind this before I can even start on finding out who the mastermind was.

If this were the only thing that I was working on, or if I actually had some help from the Star Labs crew, I could probably solve this within a night. But I can’t ask Cisco for help when he’s so biased over the Cold situation. He could completely ignore a potential suspect because he’s too busy trying to pin it on Cold somehow. I thought about asking Caitlin, but she apparently took part in that intervention mess, so I can’t trust that she’ll be impartial either. Those three are lucky that Oliver was caught up in a serious fight and stuck recovering during and after their intervention, or there wouldn’t have been a Team Flash left, just the Flash.

And his husband Captain Cold, who hasn’t technically stopped being a supervillain. I thought my life was weird. Barry definitely wins there.

If the kidnapping was just what it appeared as on surface level, then it would’ve been carried out by anyone opportunistic and stupid enough to try getting leverage over Cold. But if it was a test, one that was meant to fail from the start, then that would explain going as far as to have a middleman. Does this mean that there’s a chance of a repeat or has whoever is pulling the strings learned enough that they don’t need or want to? Whoever they are, they’ve covered their tracks well. I’ve been running through CCTV footage to figure out who the kidnapper got their idea from, but the meeting must’ve taken place in a blind spot.

The kidnapper, a nobody with a standard rap sheet and no encounters with Cold before or after he made himself into the Flash’s villain, obviously thought he was going to succeed. The middleman must’ve made it out to be an easy hit with a big reward at the end. He didn’t even tail Barry properly, just waited near the precinct the day of. Not that that’s surprising considering he’s never kidnapped anyone before, at least not according to his rap sheet or how he handled it. So the mastermind wanted the cops to take one look at this, call it an opportunistic idiot and move on.

It’s almost like they wanted to be able to either step away from the matter or get more involved depending on how the job went. The main question left is whether they’ll try for a second, more serious, attempt at a later time, or if they’ve backed off. Whether they’re a new player or someone who’s crossed Cold before will help determine that. But it’s not something I’m going to be able to find out from behind a screen. Answers aren’t going to just appear without a little hands-on persuasion.

It’s time to bring Oliver in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oliver did in fact realise that it'd be a bad idea to link a vigilante to Barry. That's one of the only things that stopped him from throwing the CCPD into chaos.


	13. Team Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver decides to work with Len to narrow down who was behind Barry’s kidnapping.

**OLIVER**

It appears that my chat with West didn’t pay off. Now, not only has he hurt Barry emotionally, his actions have also led to physically endangering his foster son. I am so close to making a few calls to ruin West’s career in law enforcement, but I stop myself for now. As it is, any moves against West will be assumed to have come from Sn– Cold. That and I can’t ruin West’s life without the go ahead from Barry first. The speedster would end up feeling guilty over whatever I do against West, somehow getting it into his head that West’s actions are a direct result of his own.

Taking responsibility for your own mistakes is one thing, taking responsibility for another’s is another matter altogether. Barry didn’t make West react the way he did. That’s all on the detective. But I can’t focus on what West has done to Barry, even if I’d like to make him pay for failing his son. I’ve got to prioritise dealing with the consequences of West’s actions. There’s only so much time that I can spend in Central before I need to head back home, and I’d rather dedicate that to hunting down who was behind Barry’s kidnapping. I just need an expert on Central’s criminal underground.

Good thing there’s one who’s particularly invested in this case.

*

Cold is smiling at his phone when I slip into the booth at Saints and Sinners across from him. He doesn’t look up, but I can tell from the way his free hand twitches away from his cold gun that he knows it’s me.

“The Flash just rescued a kitten stuck in a tree,” he says with fond exasperation. “He’d be sporting half a dozen scratches if the suit didn’t protect him.”

“What’s the likelihood of him keeping the cat?” I ask.

“Zero. It already has a family.” Cold locks his phone and slips it away, but not before I spot his lock screen: Lisa Snart asleep on Barry’s shoulder, the latter oblivious to the person behind the camera, presumably Cold, instead absorbed in something on his laptop. “Wasn’t expecting you here, Queen,” Cold says. “Aren’t worried you’ll leave without your wallet?”

“We have pickpockets in Star as well.”

“True, but Central’s a little better in the thieving department. Guess they’re inspired by having one of the world’s best set up shop here.”

“I thought you’d be trying to get in my good graces.”

Cold shrugs. “Barry knows who he married. I’m not about to let his friends and family forget only to blame my husband for it when something reminds them.”

“I’m unlikely to forget.”

“Yes, I remember your reaction when I visited Barry at work the first time.”

“I’m not apologising.”

Cold scoffs. “Please, I’ve done far worse to the idiots who tried playing with my sister’s heart. She can take care of herself just fine, but that doesn’t mean I want to protect her any less.” He leans forward, one his hands resting on his cold gun. “That said, if you ever put an arrow through my husband again, I will not rest until I’ve undone every second you’ve dedicated to cleaning up Star City.” He leans back. “We clear, Queen?”

“Of course.”

“Not going to threaten me in turn?” Cold asks.

I smile. “I don’t need to. You’re not going to hurt Barry.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“You let him get away with too much. I went over the Star Labs security footage after my last visit to Central. If I’d done that after you’d just gotten your pardon, I would’ve figured out your relationship far sooner. You’re almost as obvious as Barry when you care about someone. The way you handled his panic attack after that unbelievable intervention cinched it.”

“And where were you during that incident?” Cold asks. “I don’t doubt that one of them thought to bring you into it.”

“I didn’t hear about it until after I’d woken up from an unfortunate bike accident.”

Cold rolls his eyes, no doubt catching the ‘Arrow business’ behind the cover story.

“Why are you here, Queen?” he asks. “Central isn’t your city.”

“True, but I couldn’t do this errand from Star.”

“Okay, let me be a little clearer. Why are you sparing time from your busy schedule to chat with me?”

“I figured you would want in on this one,” I say.

Cold crosses his arms. “What makes you think that?”

I lower my voice. “Felicity figured out that whoever was behind Barry’s kidnapping wanted it to fail. I want to know what stakes they had in this and to do that, I need to know who they are.”

Cold smiles. “You want my help tracking down someone who hurt my Scarlet?”

“If you’re up for it.”

“It’d be my pleasure.”

*

I’m not surprised that Cold leads me to a safe house rather than his shared apartment with Barry. We might both care about the speedster, but we’re still on opposite sides of the law, and I’m far less forgiving than the Flash. I park my bike next to Cold’s and follow him inside the rundown warehouse. There are three tables filled with stacks of folders, another with schematics for the cold, heat, and gold guns, and the final with the heat gun on it, various half assembled cryo-weapons next to it. I’m sure that once Cold’s finished with me, all of this will be moved to another safe house.

“Mick! We’ve got company. Might want to head out for the next few hours. Scarlet wouldn’t want you getting into a fight with this one.”

“Red doesn’t like me picking a fight with any of his nerds,” Mick Rory complains, throwing darts at a picture of Joe West.

I fling a hidden arrow at the picture and smile when it hits between West’s eyes.

Rory looks back at me. “Not one of his nerds then.”

Cold tosses Rory his heat gun. “He’s here to figure out who had my Scarlet kidnapped.”

“You didn’t tell him we’ve got it covered?” Rory asks.

“Extra help doesn’t hurt. I’m not risking another attempt. Don’t tell anyone but Lisa that he’s helping. Scarlet doesn’t want to think about who’s behind the job until things calm down, and I don’t trust the others enough.”

Rory shrugs. “I was getting the urge to burn something again anyway. Tell Red he’s even more of a boy scout for the kitten rescue.”

“Tell him yourself.”

Cold waits until Rory’s left to turn on me. “You didn’t have to let him know about your little archery hobby, Queen.”

I retrieve the arrow. “He already knows Barry’s identity and kept it a secret.”

“Everyone knows Barry’s identity these days,” Cold snaps, sounding more annoyed by that than I ever have. “He told my Rogues yesterday. I almost had Mardon forgetting his place. Dealing with insubordination is so much more annoying since I promised Scarlet to stop killing.”

“Any chance one of yours was behind the kidnapping?” I ask.

Cold shakes his head, heading over to one of the tables with the folders. “Already checked over their alibis. Twice. It’s definitely someone with a grudge against me. They’d know how offended I would be by the sloppiness of the job. I don’t know whether it’s someone who used to respect me before I married a CSI or if it’s someone who I’ve pissed off long before that. Mardon and Bivolo have the first group, Mick and Lisa are covering that second group, and Rathaway is tracking down the middleman.”

“You won’t need Felicity’s help hacking then.”

“Rathaway doesn’t work well with others, less so than the rest of us. That spitfire of yours would just get in his way.”

“She’s not–”

“Bullshit. Take it from the man who married someone too good for him, or ignore the entire matter. I don’t care either way. Just don’t lie so obviously to my face. It makes it harder to believe that Scarlet will one day be able to keep his identity a secret from everyone who walks into his life.”

I drop the subject. “What can I do then, if you’ve got everything so thoroughly covered?”

Cold grabs a stack of folders and hands them to me. “Check these over. I already have, but I might’ve missed something.”

I open the first folder. “I thought you checked over your Rogues already.”

“Doesn’t hurt to check again. I’ve already worked with them too much. I can’t trust that I don’t have biases.” Cold grabs another stack of folders and opens them. “Only me, Mick, and Lisa know about this safe house. If you find something, drop the lead here.”

I glance over at the table of schematics. “And all of this will still be here?”

“Until we’ve tracked down the bastard that tried to use my husband against me.”

“I’ll have to head back to Star to check these over.”

Cold glares over his shoulder at me. “Do all vigilantes feel the need to point out the obvious?”

I leave before one of us pushes the other into a fight. Barry would be upset with both of us regardless of who started it. I don’t feel like dealing with the speedster’s version of revenge or being on the receiving end of those disappointed puppy dog eyes. No wonder Barry has his villains hunting down the one behind his kidnapping. He can make anyone with a heart feel guilty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oliver did in fact intend to team up with Len properly, but he (and I) got steamrolled by Len refusing to take chances where Barry’s safety is involved.


	14. Arrow vs Vibe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver is a tad annoyed at how Cisco’s been treating Barry lately.

**OLIVER**

Why is it that every time I think I’m done having to visit Central, someone in Barry’s life decides to screw up? At least this time I get to take my bow. I’m not sure if I was more annoyed or surprised to have a text from Cold considering I never gave him my number, but Felicity pointed out that he probably got it off Barry’s phone. I almost would’ve preferred for it to be about Barry’s kidnapping, but I’ve been waiting for an excuse to shoot at Cisco Ramon since the intervention incident.

_‘Tech boy has Scarlet avoiding him. He’s overdue for a long chat. I can’t do it while helping Snow with her powers. You in?’_

_‘Of course.’_

It didn’t take long at all to bring up the exact incident that had Barry avoiding Ramon in Star Labs security footage, which Barry gave Felicity permission to hack into after he inherited the labs. I’m on my bike back to Central before Felicity can finish commenting on how good Cold is for Barry. From what I can understand, Ramon has been the least accepting of Barry’s marriage aside from West, despite claiming to be the speedster’s best friend and once being interested in Barry’s new sister-in-law. Where West is unable to see any of his children as grown adults who can make their own decisions, Ramon doesn’t seem able to see Barry outside of fulfilling his expectations of what a superhero should be.

I aim to change that.

Star Labs is mostly empty when I arrive, thanks to Cold’s interference. I don’t want to think about how easily one of Barry’s villains can clear out his base of operations without anyone the wiser. Cold already exists in a state of half villain, half ally, depending on his mood. It’s confusing enough without adding his marriage to Barry onto that. For now, I’ll be glad for it, as it’ll give me the opportunity for a long talk with Ramon without worrying about interruptions. I even have Cold’s guarantee that the Flash won’t be needed during this time. Again, I’m choosing not to question how and why he got crime to stop in Central City for an hour every night.

It’s easy enough to dodge any cameras on my way to the cortex. I’d be more worried if I didn’t already know that Barry’s planning to fix that with his husband’s help. I’ll be the first to admit that someone with experience breaking and entering would be better at identifying any blind spots. I’d have offered to do it myself if I weren’t already spending too much time in Central. As it stands, I’ll only be able to come back during the next few weeks if it’s an absolute emergency. I’d prefer if it didn’t come to that though. Barry has a bad habit of being involved in world ending emergencies.

I stalk into the cortex with my bow in hand and ready to draw at a moment’s notice. Ramon’s spinning around on a chair and doesn’t notice me straight away. When he does, he screeches and falls off his chair. It doesn’t exactly give me faith in his position as Barry’s backup. But it _is_ satisfying to watch him scramble to his feet and almost fall right back over when his grip on the chair slips.

“Ramon,” I greet in what Felicity calls my ‘scary interrogator voice’.

“Mr Queen, I mean, Arrow sir, we weren’t expecting you. Has something happened in Star City? I can call the Flash in.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

“Oh? That’s weird. Say, you wouldn’t have happened to be whammied by any mind-altering metas lately, right? It’s just that you’re looking a little murderous right now, and Barry’s been really clear that you aren’t killing people anymore.”

I roll my shoulders back. “Felicity? Can you please assure Ramon that my mind is my own? I wouldn’t want this conversation to get misunderstood because he thinks my actions are influenced by Roy Bivolo somehow.”

Ramon winces at the reference.

“Oliver is definitely sound of mind. I’d be there with him if he didn’t leave while I was in the middle of a sentence,” Felicity says, her voice coming over the labs’ intercoms.

“Be sure to cut the footage until I’m done here. Barry wouldn’t want to see this.”

The obvious crunch of popcorn comes over the intercom. “Oh, I’ll be sure to erase their copy,” Felicity says.

Ramon is only now starting to look scared. I put my hand on an arrow. Ramon starts slowly backing away, holding his hands up like he’s calming a predator down.

“I’d ask if you know why I’m here,” I say. “But I can’t trust your answer. I’d hate for there to be any chance you misinterpret my message. It would be _unfortunate_ to have to go through this all over again.”

“Good thing that I don’t know why you look like you want to shoot me then,” Ramon says. “This isn’t you snapping and becoming a villain, is it? Because I can totally understand that Felicity would back you up, but–”

I shoot the first arrow. It nicks Ramon’s cheek before lodging itself in the wall behind him.

“This is me telling you that the way you’ve been treating Barry lately is unacceptable,” I snap. “Raising concerns about Flash-related business is one thing. You’re a team, and it’s within your rights. That doesn’t give you the right to doubt his judgement on every situation that Cold is involved in, as if his relationship with the man suddenly makes him incapable of deciding whether your team needs his assistance. It doesn’t give you the right to completely disregard any struggles Barry has with his powers because you’re so focussed on the hero you expect him to be instead of the man he is. And nothing, not being a member of _Team Flash_, nor being his so-called best friend, gives you the right to treat Barry’s personal choices like they’re up for debate.”

“Are you seriously on Cold’s side with this? I thought you’d be the most disapproving,” Ramon says, missing the point completely.

I let another arrow loose in the hope that it’ll make me a little clearer. Sadly, Ramon intercepts it with a breach.

“It doesn’t matter whether I approve or not. Barry deserves my support.”

“He’s married a literal supervillain. Is it really so wrong that I thought he’d lost his mind? The intervention was a little harsh, but it doesn’t hurt to be sure.”

“It didn’t hurt you to be sure. But Barry? You helped send him into a panic attack.”

Ramon crosses his arms, defensiveness screaming in his body language. “That wasn’t on purpose.”

“Not on purpose?” I scoff. “Do you really think that kind of behaviour is alright?” I question, shooting another arrow. “He’s your friend, and you hurt him!”

Ramon opens a breach in front of the arrow and opens another next to the wall.

“You’re trying to hurt me right now,” Ramon says.

I let three arrows fly this time. “We’re not friends.”

Ramon opens a breach beneath his feet and falls through. I shoot an arrow with a tracker attached behind me without looking and smile at the pained grunt.

“You shot me!”

I slowly turn around. “That was the point.”

“You actually shot me,” Ramon says, as if he didn’t believe I would.

“Did you know that I consider Barry to be my little brother?” I ask, collapsing my bow and stalking forward. Ramon’s audible gulp makes me smile. “You, Cisco Ramon, have failed Barry Allen. I’m here to make sure that never happens again. Because if it does, there will be nowhere in the multiverse that you can hide from me.” I twist the arrow embedded in the wall via his shoulder. “Do not underestimate the lengths I will go to in order to protect my family, Ramon. It will be the last mistake you make.”

I yank the arrow out, tracker delivered, and return it to my quiver, as Ramon slides to the floor.

“Message received,” he whimpers.

I laugh. “We’re not done here yet. No, I’ve got a list of infractions that I’ll be going through before I leave. You understand that I have to be thorough, right? I can’t leave room for misinterpretation. If I have to hunt you down, I want you to know exactly why.”

The crunch of Felicity eating popcorn makes Ramon jump. I smile. Time to start the list.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two Oliver POV chapters in a row, and the last one from his perspective at that. I feel like I should give a warning that the next chapter is from Joe’s POV at this point. After that, well, just look at the timeline in chapter five’s end notes. The end of this AU isn’t that far away.


	15. Healing Fractures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joe isn’t sure where the family dinner with Barry and Len went wrong.

**JOE**

What happened to my kid? What happened to the sweet boy so determined first to solve his mother’s murder, and then to help others, that he came both one of the best CSIs to grace the CCPD and a literal superhero? What happened to my Barr? Showing up in _that_ jacket, so comfortable with a criminal, and so uncomfortable with me. That’s not my Barry. That wasn’t the kid I raised. I don’t know when that changed, but I do know who was in the centre of it all. That murdering thief changed my son and now the sweet kid that I raised can’t even last one meal in my presence without running away.

The thief doesn’t say anything before he runs out, grabbing his parka and slamming the front door behind him.

Iris is the first to break the silence. “I hope Barr’s okay.”

“He will be,” Eddie assures her. “He’s just going to need a little more time.”

“Time,” I scoff. “Why would my–?”

“Because you can’t expect all the shit you’ve put him through to disappear!” Wally snaps. “Barry was shaking in his seat through most of dinner. He’s scared of you and your reactions now, Dad. That’s not something you can erase with an insincere apology.”

No.

“My son isn’t scared of me.”

He can’t be. Not Barry.

Eddie refuses to meet my eyes. “This dinner might have been too soon. Maybe meeting in a public place might’ve been better. Even then, after how you’ve been acting at the precinct, somewhere public wouldn’t have worked. Star Labs is another place Barry should feel comfortable considering he owns the place, but…”

“I ruined that for him too,” I realise.

Iris glares at me. “Is there any place left where Barr can actually feel safe?” she asks.

“His apartment,” Wally suggests. “Good thing we don’t know where that is then, or there’d be nowhere left he could hide from us.”

“He shouldn’t need to hide from us,” I insist. “We’re his family.”

“Not his only family though,” Wally points out. “I mean, he’s got his husband now, right? Plus, a sister-in-law, pretty much a brother-in-law with Mick Rory, and Oliver Queen for a pseudo brother for some reason. I’m pretty sure Barry mentioned having another pseudo sister who lives on a different Earth, but I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not.”

Everyone stares at Wally.

“What?” he asks.

“When did you find all of that out?” Iris asks.

Wally crosses his arms. “Barr felt bad about keeping me out of the whole Flash thing from me for so long, so he told me to text him any questions that I might have. At one point, I even ended up with Lisa’s number, and she’s been pretty cool with trading embarrassing stories about our big brothers.”

“You’ve been texting Lisa Snart?” I question, trying to keep my anger at bay.

“Yeah. We’re family now. I figured it’s only fair that I actually get to know the new in-laws.”

Iris laughs. “You’ve got to give me her number. Barry and Len have been trying to keep us from teaming up.”

“That’s because you’d be terrifying,” Wally says.

Iris tries to grab his phone anyway. Wally jumps up and bolts out of the room, his sister on his tail. Their laughter, and stomping up the stairs, echoes through the house. Eddie smiles, as he starts gathering the half-finished plates.

“There usually aren’t leftovers when Barry’s over,” I say, staring at the insatiable speedster’s barely touched lasagna. “Especially when it’s his favourite.”

“You can’t expect your kids to stop changing, Joe. It’d be stranger if they always stayed the same.”

I clench my jaw and don’t snap that I didn’t ask for his opinion. Eddie is both my partner and my son-in-law; of course, he gets a say. Never mind that Leonard Snart is apparently my son-in-law now as well. Eddie pauses at Snart’s plate.

“He’s a good man,” Eddie says. “I never thought I’d say that about someone convicted for murder, pardon and erased records or not, when I first joined the force, but I would’ve been wrong. Leonard Allen is a good man. I don’t think that’s because of Barry, even if he definitely brings out Len’s soft side.” Eddie looks me in the eye. “I think that Len has always been a good man, and it wasn’t until Barry came along, stubbornly insisting that there was good in him, that Len finally realised the same. That all that darkness he uses to protect his weak points was just a shield and not the sum of who he is. And yes, there’s a tiny chance that we’re all wrong about him, but I think it’s just as likely that Leonard Allen is bad at his core as it is that all of us are.”

He picks up Snart’s plate and moves off to the kitchen.

“What if he hurts Barry?” I ask.

Eddie pauses and glances over his shoulder. “I think you should be focusing more on how _you_ are going to prove to all of us that you’re not going to keep hurting Barry. This was a start, a bad one sure, but a start all the same. Keep it up and maybe things will be okay again. You won’t really know until you try. I think Barry deserves that much. Don’t you?”

He walks into the kitchen before I can find an answer.

I don’t like that Barry’s married Snart. But I hate that he didn’t feel like he could come to me about it when they were just starting out their relationship. And just look at us now. I drove Barry into tears. I brought a panic attack onto my kid. I alienated my boy. How on Earth do we come back from that? I just want my Barr to be able to smile when I’m in the same room. Even if I have to accept that thief as his husband.

Barry’s worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, he sees sense. Sort of. Well, more than he did before the start of the chapter. Showing realistic character progression is really painful. On a happier note, Lisa’s been helping Wally get over his fear of Len. The next two chapters tie in directly to Inevitable’s 18 - Power Play and 19 - Visiting Hours, so happiness will be a void for a little bit.


	16. Throw away the Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lisa helps her brother rescue his husband.

**LISA**

Len pauses, right before he’s about to take a three million dollar diamond necklace out of the safe he just cracked.

“What is it?” I whisper, keeping an eye out for any security that might’ve dropped routine for some reason.

“Mick just texted me. Mardon’s claiming that he’s checking on Scarlet on my order.”

“Why would you ask Mardon to do that?” I ask.

“I didn’t.” Len closes the safe. “We need to leave.”

“What about the job?”

“Screw the job. Barry might be in danger.”

“You don’t think Mardon might’ve been the one behind–”

“I don’t know. I hope not, but Queen noticed a minuscule irregularity in his alibi, and I chose to shelve interrogating Mardon until we got back from this job.”

Len gestures for silence before I can tell him to not blame himself. We slip out of the penthouse apartment and past the security, who are only now realising that their camera feeds have been looped for the past five minutes. It takes us just under seven minutes to get back to our safe house. We only circle back once to lose any potential tails. I don’t mention how sloppy that is compared to our normal measures. Instead, I search our safe house for any disturbances while my brother pulls his phone back out.

“New message?” I ask.

Len just crumbles.

There’s no other word for it. His legs give out, his entire body drops, and his face is filled with so many emotions, despair, fury, hopelessness, that it looks like he’s feeling nothing at all. It’s like his strings are cut, and he crumbles.

I can’t move fast enough to catch him, but I do manage to pick up his phone and see the text from Mick.

_‘Mardon has Red. Shot and kidnapped him. Need assist.’_

Son of a fucking bitch.

“I’m killing that bastard,” I declare.

Len doesn’t say anything, but he does move. He practically leaps to his feet, grabs his cold gun, checks it over, slides out an extrapolator and turns to me. I take the silent cue to check over my gold gun and hold it ready. Len opens a breach and we walk through.

I don’t recognise that apartment that we enter, but from the view out the window, we’re in a different city for sure. The blonde who lands on the balcony switches from fierce to worried the second that she sees Len’s expression.

“Barry?” she asks.

“Help,” Len croaks.

The woman nods. “Of course.”

She follows us through another breach without any more explanation.

“Supergirl?” I guess, as we enter what I’d expect to see when I think superhero hideout.

“And you’re Lisa,” she says.

The Arrow, or Oliver Queen, appears out of the shadows.

“I’ve already heard,” he says, striding over to us. “Take us to Star Labs.”

Len opens another breach. We enter a cortex in absolute chaos, voices clamouring over each other, some shouting at Mick who stands his ground and somehow resists setting anyone on fire.

“Unless you already have a plan on how to find my husband, I suggest you stop talking before I have to force you!” Len snaps, gripping his cold gun.

I charge my gun and stand by Len’s side, glaring at the shocked faces, and hiding a smile when Mick comes over to stand by Len’s other side. Supergirl and Queen stand between the two groups, their arms crossed in superhero disapproving. Cisco, Caitlin, West, Iris, and Eddie are across from us, and thankfully quiet.

Queen speaks first. “Is there any way to track where they went?” he asks.

“I’ve already tried, but Weather Wizard must be doing something to interfere with our satellite,” Caitlin says.

“I could do a fly over and x-ray the buildings,” Supergirl says.

“Get her a comm,” Len says.

Cisco bristles. “We don’t take orders from you.”

Queen glares at him. Cisco hands Supergirl a comm.

“Focus on abandoned warehouses,” Len says. “Mardon might’ve been smart enough to throw me off his trail, but he still plays into plenty of clichés. Report back the second you find something. We’ll breach to your location.”

Supergirl disappears in a ruffle of wind.

“I need whatever footage the CCPD managed before Mardon cut the feed,” Len says.

“How’d you know he did?” Eddie asks, even as he moves to the closest computer.

“It’s what I would do,” Len answers, ignoring any reactions. “Do we know how Mardon managed to leave a precinct full of badges unnoticed?”

“He might’ve swiped one of your portal things,” Mick suggests.

“You had more than one?” West questions.

“It was mine,” I lie. I’m not sure what Lenny was doing with two, but it doesn’t matter right now, not if it stops this lot from listening to him. “I wanted to see if I could figure out how it worked.”

Len bumps his shoulder against mine in a silent thank you.

“Can the extrapolators’ locations be tracked?” he asks.

Cisco shakes his head, but then pauses mid-shake. “Actually, they might be. I should be able to vibe one and find where the others are.”

Len passes him his extrapolator. Cisco must finally have gotten his head surgically removed from his ass because he doesn’t hesitate in taking the device from my brother. He spaces out for a few seconds, most probably using those powers of his that nobody’s explained to me yet. Cisco stumbles back.

“I know where they are,” he says.

“Give Supergirl the location and breach us there,” Queen says.

“It’d be easier for her to come with us,” Cisco says, already striding over to the computers. “Supergirl, come back to Star Labs. We’ve found–”

A rush of wind cuts him off, as Supergirl enters the cortex, still hovering.

“Well? Let’s go already,” she says.

I’m pretty sure Mick’s drooling, but a sharp elbow to the ribs cuts him out of it.

“Barry might need Caitlin before he can be moved, so I’ll prepare the medbay,” Iris says, already moving off. “The rest of you bring Barr back.”

Cisco opens up a breach. Supergirl flies through first, followed by Queen, us Rogues, the cops, Caitlin, and then Cisco. By the time our weapons are aimed at Mardon, Supergirl is already unravelling his storm, while Queen lays down cover. The detectives yell something about standing down to Mardon, but Len beats them to the freeze. Mardon sends lightning at Len, which he has to roll to dodge. I shoot Mardon, aiming a little to the left, while Mick aims a little to the right, trapping him in place. Queen lets an arrow fly that unravels into ropes and binds the meta. One tap on the head from Supergirl knocks him out.

“Barry!” Len shouts, running over to the slumped over speedster.

My brother lets out a sound that’s halfway between a sob and a growl, as he drops to his knees in front of his blood soaked husband. I tear my eyes away from them, scrubbing away any tears before anyone notices. Everyone except me and Mick rush over to the injured and delirious speedster, while we stay by Mardon. Barry doesn’t need to be overwhelmed right now, and if Mardon wakes up, he’ll make everything worse. Mick wraps an arm around me when Barry’s ‘I don’t want to die’ reaches us. I shrug him off, but give him a tight nod as silent thanks.

The whirl of the cold gun silences the speedster, and it’s followed by a choked off sob from Len. I glance over to see Supergirl scoop Barry into her arms, and after a nod from Len, fly off. Lenny’s shaking so much that I can see it from here. Caitlin reaches out to steady him, but he flinches back. Queen murmurs something to Len before joining us with Mardon.

“We’ve got it here,” I call. “You lot can all head back.”

Len falters. “I should–”

“We got it handled, Lenny,” Mick says. “Go be with Red.”

“Right. Thanks.” 

He follows the others through a breach back to Star Labs. I bend down to slap some meta cuffs on the bastard that hurt Barry, Mick holsters his gun in favour of pulling out his lighter, and Queen slips a knife out from somewhere unseen. A well-aimed kick to Mardon’s ribs with my steel-capped boots makes a satisfying crunch that echoes through the warehouse as he jerks awake.

I dig my heel into his stomach. “You crossed the wrong family.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realise that this chapter is fairly tense and emotional, but can I just point out how stupid of a word extrapolator is? Not only do I manage to misspell it every single time, but it doesn’t even make sense as a word, even if it’s a comic logic fuelled one. Why can’t it just be called a breacher or something that makes logical sense? Maybe there is a better word for it that I’ve completely missed, but I’ve been using it throughout the entire AU, so there’s no point hunting for a substitute when there are only three chapters left, none of which actually use the ridiculous word. 
> 
> On a more chapter related note, I recognise that from Barry’s perspective it seems like he was in Mardon’s hands for several hours, but here, it seems to take much less time to find him, but Mardon wasn’t exactly honest about those coin flips, or just how often he was doing them. Being tortured skews one’s perception of time.
> 
> Edit: Turns out, thank you BlahSatane for spotting it, that it was originally written in the final chapter of Inevitable that Barry was tortured for over eight hours, but I've fixed that up to a little over one hour now to be more in line with this chapter. He was still hurt just as much; it was just less drawn out.


	17. Take away his Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Len waits for Barry to wake up.

**LEN**

1 minute and 56 seconds.

Kara already has Barry when Caitlin turns on everyone who followed her into the medbay.

“Unless you all have medical training you’re just going to get in my way,” she snaps.

I hate the fact that she’s right, even if it means letting my blood-soaked husband out of my sight. There’s some grumbling from behind me, but I ignore it in favour of stalking past them all and grabbing the closest seat to the medbay for myself. Kara shuffles to my side and rests a hand on my shoulder. I don’t shove it off, but I don’t lean into it either. If I let myself be comforted, nothing’s going to be able to hold the tears back. And I don’t trust the rest of this lot to not try taking advantage of any weaknesses. Dear old Dad taught me that much. 

*

13 minutes and 7 seconds.

“I don’t have any other clothes,” Kara admits in a whisper.

Normally I’d find humour in something like that, but I can’t manage any past the dread suffocating me.

“There should be some STAR Labs sweats around here somewhere,” I say, my voice rasping.

I pointedly ignore the concerned look Kara gives me. She disappears in a ruffle of wind and reappears eleven seconds later dressed in a long sleeve shirt, loose pants, her hair tied back, and no shoes on. I don’t ask why she didn’t just keep the boots on. It’s not my problem.

*

29 minutes and 40 seconds.

My phone rings. The sound of Barry singing is almost enough to make me want to snap the thing in half. It draws the eyes of everyone hovering around the cortex and no glare is sharp enough to make them mind their own damn business. I press answer with enough force that my screen almost cracks.

“This better be important,” I growl.

“Found the middleman, boss,” Hartley says. “I know it’s not worth much now, considering, but I figured you’d want him handled as well.”

“I’m sure you and Roy can handle it. If you need some handholding call Mick or Lise. Don’t contact me again unless it’s an absolute emergency.”

“Understood. If it’s any consolation–”

I hang up.

Kara looks like she wants to say something, but she wisely keeps her mouth shut. The same can’t be said about West. He thankfully keeps his comments muttered under his breath though. Judging from the way Kara stiffens next to me, they were probably aspersions on my character. I stop myself from rolling my eyes. Go figure that West still can’t act his age even with Barry... I pull out my cold gun and start disassembling it, my usual speed slowed down by the frequent glances towards the medbay.

*

46 minutes and 38 seconds.

Caitlin walks out of the medbay in different scrubs from the ones she put on when she kicked us out. I’ve no illusions that the original ones aren’t covered in Barry’s blood. I shove the reassembled cold gun into its holster and jump to my feet. Sounds of others clamouring to stand barely reach my ears past my complete focus on what the doctor has to say.

“I’ve stabilised him and removed the bullets. His body is healing any of the internal damage they caused, but between that and the lightning burns, I don’t see him waking up within the next 24 hours. The best I can do for him right now is keep him is have him on a specialised IV and hope it’s enough for his metabolism, so his healing factor can take care of the rest. The damage the bullets caused to his knees will keep him from walking unassisted for at least a week, and it will mean no running for at least a month.”

“Can we see him?” Iris asks.

“Two at a time,” Caitlin says. “As to who goes first, that’s up to Len.”

I give her a tight nod as thanks and stumble towards the medbay, my legs refusing to cooperate. Kara is there to support me before I can even blink. I force my body to listen and stand stiffly unassisted.

“Iris can come too,” I say because I’m not that much of an asshole.

She follows me into the medbay, her sharp gasp at the sight of Barry concealing my choked sob. Lightning burns spread across his pale skin. Bandages are tightly wrapped around his stomach and knees, splints in place on the latter. The worst part isn’t even the myriad of injuries caused by a man I should never have taken into my Rogues. No, the worst part is how still Barry is. Even when he’s sleeping, Barry’s always moving, whether it’s a slight twitch of his fingers or the sudden need to burrow closer. Now, the only movement is his chest barely moving up and down.

“I’m sorry, Scarlet,” I whisper, taking one of the chairs by his bed.

Iris takes the chair on the other side. “It’s not your fault.”

“Mardon was my responsibility,” is all I say.

The reporter might try and argue that, but I don’t hear, my ears too focussed on the reassuring steady beep of the heart monitor. It’s a little faster than a normal person’s heart rate, but it’s slower than Barry’s usual resting rate. I lean forward and thread my fingers through Barry’s, the monitor beeping away in the background.

*

1 hour, 52 minutes and 9 seconds.

Iris leaves the medbay and is replaced by Eddie, who mentions having to head back to the CCPD soon and is replaced by Caitlin, who adjusts the splints and is replaced by Cisco, who doesn’t say a word to me as he takes the other seat. He talks to Barry instead, as if the speedster can somehow hear him but is choosing not to respond.

“I know this isn’t the best time, and it’s long overdue, but I’m sorry for how I’ve been acting lately,” Cisco says, his eyes fixed just above Barry’s head. “I’m going to have to repeat this later, but that’s alright. It’s the least you deserve, especially because it took your scary archer friend, who thinks of you as a little brother by the way, to beat some sense into me.” He shifts slightly and winces. “Kind of wish I didn’t mean that literally. Point is I messed up. And not just with the you and Cold thing, but with the intervention and the acting like you’ve never struggled with your powers before too.

“I guess it’s just so easy to forget that you don’t have everything handled when you’re always out there fighting crime no matter what setbacks you face. But that’s no excuse. All I can do now is be better. I just hope you haven’t completely rescinded my friend status. Pretty sure I lost best friend level when I didn’t realise you had the hots for Cold. If it’s any help, I definitely see what you meant about there being good in him now. The man appeared like an avenging angel with Supergirl and Arrow in tow while we were still scrambling to figure out what happened. I don’t think anyone here can doubt that he loves you. I for one feel like a complete idiot for not realising it sooner. You two were so cuddling in that Italian restaurant, and I still managed to miss the obvious.”

He directs that last sentence at me.

“Mick has a theory that the smarter someone is the more oblivious they are,” I say.

Cisco smiles. It’s odd to see it directed at me.

“He’s probably right about that, except Harry’s the smartest person I’ve met, and he took one look at Barry’s ring and figured it out.”

“We all have our blind spots.”

“Guess you can’t blame yourself over Weather Wizard did then,” Cisco says.

I grant him a nod as acknowledgement for the point, even if I don’t agree.

*

3 hours, 16 minutes and 24 seconds.

Kara comes in but doesn’t sit.

“You need a break,” she says.

“Not yet.”

“I’ll stay with him.”

“Not yet.”

“Okay.”

She takes the seat and waits in silence.

*

3 hours, 47 minutes and 39 seconds.

“Fine.”

Kara just smiles, as I stride out past her.

*

3 hours, 49 minutes and 39 seconds.

“Any change?” I ask, slumping back into my seat and threading my fingers through Barry’s again.

“No,” Kara says.

“How are his knees healing?”

She squints, no doubt a tell that she’s using her x-ray vision. I’ll have to remedy that before she returns to her Earth.

“Dr Snow shouldn’t have to re-break them.”

“Can’t be a little more specific?”

“Are you going to understand if I am?” Kara retorts.

I shrug. “Touché.”

*

5 hours, 28 minutes and 1 second.

West finally enters the medbay. I tense as his eyes fall on me first and then Barry. He walks back out. I don’t relax.

*

6 hours, 14 minutes and 53 seconds.

Caitlin kicks me out under orders to eat something while she checks over how much Barry’s body is healing itself. I only leave after a nod to Kara who stays just outside the medbay.

*

6 hours, 24 minutes and 53 seconds.

Caitlin lets me back in with a shake of her head and a poorly concealed worried once over. I slump into my seat and thread my fingers through Barry’s.

*

10 hours and 37 seconds.

West silently takes the other seat.

*

10 hours, 58 minutes and 39 seconds.

West silently leaves.

*

13 hours, 15 minutes and 26 seconds.

Iris doesn’t gasp when she sees Barry this time. Instead, she looks at me and sighs.

“You should sleep,” she says.

“I should.”

“But you won’t.”

“Would you?”

Iris sits down. “I’ve seen him in a coma before.”

“This isn’t one.”

“No, but it isn’t any easier. I didn’t sleep for over 48 hours that time. It didn’t help anyone.”

“Scarlet won’t keep me waiting that long.”

Iris grabs Barry’s other hand. “No, but he’d want you to sleep.”

“I will. Just not yet.”

Not yet.

*

15 hours and 47 minutes.

West enters, as Iris leaves. She whispers something to him, but it doesn’t look like he listens. He never does. Iris shakes her head while walking out. West doesn’t take the free seat. Instead, he stands next to it, his arms crossed.

“If you are about to try the intimidation act, Detective, you will be sorely disappointed by its lack of effect,” I drawl, leaning back in my seat even as I keep a hand on Barry’s.

He scoffs and sits down.

*

15 hours, 55 minutes and 34 seconds.

My eyes are drooping, but I force them to stay open. I’ve lasted longer without sleep plenty of times. This isn’t going to be a fight that I’ll lose.

“There are bunks set up in the cortex,” West says. “Take a nap, Snart.”

“Allen!” I snap. “My name is Leonard Allen. How is that you lot can so easily forget that fact when you’ve been questioning our marriage from the start? Or is that just another bury your head in the sand technique that you’re trying because you can’t handle that your understanding of the world might not be perfect?”

West shakes his head. “No need to bite my head off.”

“So sorry if I’m a little on edge, Detective. It’s almost like my husband was tortured by a man I put my trust in.”

He doesn’t have a response to that. Good. I don’t have the energy to play nice with someone else who failed to protect my Scarlet. Not ripping myself to shreds is hard enough.

*

16 hours, 5 minutes and 34 seconds.

“Are you going to stop staring at me yet, Detective?” I ask.

“Just making sure that when you pass out, you don’t fall on Barr.”

I refrain from rolling my eyes. “I’m sure that _if_ lose consciousness, Kara will be quick to catch me.

“Kara?”

“Supergirl, Detective. Do pay attention.”

“So sorry if I wasn’t paying attention to introductions right after my son was tortured by a criminal I told him not to trust.”

“Barry’s the one who decided to tell Mardon, not me. I argued against it.”

West gives me a look that I don’t recognise. “You’re blaming yourself.”

“You aren’t?”

Once again, West falls silent.

*

16 hours, 27 minutes and 4 seconds.

“You were in the middle of a job when Rory texted you, weren’t you?” West asks, surprisingly no accusation in his voice.

He might just be too tired to manage any.

“What of it?” I ask.

“Did you leave after the first or second text?”

I glare at him. “The first. Of course the first. He is my _husband_, Detective. If you honestly believe that I’d even hesitate when there was a chance that he was in trouble, then you’re clearly undeserving of your title.”

He doesn’t apologise for the question, but he doesn’t continue his little interrogation either.

*

16 hours, 51 minutes and 13 seconds.

West stands. “I’m going to get some sleep.”

“Would you like an official escort out or can you manage it by yourself?” I ask.

Eddie chooses that moment to walk in. “How’d you do it?” he asks.

I smirk, remembering the little text even Lisa didn’t notice me sending.

“Whatever are you talking about?” I ask.

“Captain Singh said that you convinced him to let the CCPD cooperate with Team Flash, Supergirl, Arrow, and the Rogues, meaning Joe and I aren’t going to get reprimanded for working with Rory, who has an active warrant, or helping detain Mardon without due processing. He said you even got approval for a delay before Mardon is put into police custody. When did you even have the time for all of that?”

I shrug. “While we were picking Queen up from his little hideout. It was a simple text to David. I’m quite sure that the only reason he likes me so much is because I’ve been getting Barry to arrive at work on time lately. It’s amazing what a little positive reinforcement can do to his chronic tardiness. That and being willing to accommodate for the inevitable delays.”

West is once again giving me a look that I can’t decipher; it disappears when he turns to his partner.

“See if you can’t convince Cold to get some sleep,” he says, finally not calling me Snart.

Eddie looks between us like he was just asked to march into Mordor. One does not simply force Leonard Allen to sleep when he’s watching over a loved one after all.

“I’ll try,” Eddie says, very much sounding like he knows he’ll fail.

Joe huffs, but doesn’t say anything else. Turns out, he can leave without an official escort. Eddie slumps into the free seat.

“You look like shit,” I say.

He gives me a pathetic glare. “I haven’t slept either.”

“What’s stopping you?”

“I wanted to check in on you two first.”

“I’m fine,” I lie.

“You’re not, but you’re also not going to talk about it,” Eddie says. “I’d ask how long you’ve been amicable with my Captain, but I’m pretty sure that I don’t want to know.”

Smart man, Eddie Thawne.

“If it’s any consolation, I doubt I’ll be making nice with anyone else at your precinct.”

“Not even Joe?”

I scoff. “That’s a lost cause.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Guess we’ll find out after Barry wakes up.”

“I guess we will. Not that I’ll be holding my breath.”

“You should try. The oxygen deprivation might force you to sleep.”

“Detective Thawne, I never knew you had it in you.”

Eddie slumps a little further into his seat. “It’s been a long day.”

I look at the lightning burns that have only just started fading.

“I know what you mean.”

*

17 hours, 31 minutes and 45 seconds.

Iris helps a half-asleep Eddie out of the medbay. She gives me a smile that has a little too much gratitude in it. I glare at Kara for not lying about her being the one who realised he’d passed out. The Kryptonian rolls her eyes and takes the freed seat.

“You should sleep too,” she says.

“Not yet.”

*

20 hours, 19 minutes and 18 seconds.

I let my eyes close in a slightly longer than normal blink.

Barry starts screaming.

Kara disappears and reappears with Caitlin, who gestures for me to let go of Barry’s hand. I don’t wring my hands. I hold them together to stop myself from reaching out to calm my screaming husband.

“He’s still unconscious,” Caitlin says, checking Barry’s eyelids with her little torch.

“What’s causing it?” Kara asks.

Caitlin bites her lip, checking over the heart rate monitor that’s picked up in speed but is still below Barry’s normal resting rate.

“His body is still healing itself, but he’s slightly closer to consciousness now, meaning everything that his brain normally wouldn’t consciously recognise is starting to come through, including his nervous system.”

Pain. The screams are from pain.

“This is worse than his nightmares,” I mutter, my voice wavering, but dammit, my husband, my Scarlet, my Barry is lying there screaming in pain, and he isn’t even conscious. “Can’t you do something, anything to take away his pain? Please, there has to be _something._”

“We haven’t been able to find pain relievers that work with his metabolism,” Caitlin says. “I’ve tried everything I can think of, but there’s nothing that won’t counteract his body’s enhanced healing factor. I’m not willing to risk interfering with that.”

“Would you be able to do it if you had something similar to work from?” Kara asks, her eyes shifting to Barry every two seconds. “Pain killers that work on me should work at least be a closer starting point than ones that work on regular humans.”

Caitlin frowns. “I’ll need more than just the–”

“My sister is a medical doctor. She should know exactly what you need,” Kara says. “It won’t take me long to pop back to my Earth, explain the situation to her, and come back with what you need.”

Caitlin turns to me. “This would be classified as an experimental drug. Do you consent on Barry’s behalf for us to try?” she asks.

“Yes. I trust both of you,” I say.

“Don’t take long,” Caitlin says to Kara.

The Kryptonian takes another look at Barry and disappears.

“Is she as fast as Barry?” Caitlin asks.

“Almost and, from my understanding, that’s only while flying.”

Barry’s screams break down into loud sobbing. I brush away the tears that start falling down his face.

“You mentioned nightmares,” Caitlin says, turning away to her computer and presumably bringing up her current pain reliever formula.

“Scarlet’s already told you about them.”

“I imagine it’s a little different from your perspective.”

I sigh, brushing tears away with one hand and rubbing circles into Barry’s wrist with my other.

“They’re not quite like this. There’s more thrashing involved. Coherent screams too. Words usually and sometimes complete sentences. They tend to be him reliving memories or realistic depictions of his worst fears. The best I can do is hold and calm him until my presence breaks through enough to wake him up.”

“That must be terrifying.”

“Love usually is.”

*

20 hours, 24 minutes and 57 seconds.

Kara appears, a thumb drive in one hand and a bottle of pills in the other. She hands both to Caitlin who mutters a thanks and gets to work. Kara glances over at me comforting a still sobbing and unresponsive Barry and gives me a reassuring smile.

“I’m going to update everyone,” she says. “I figure they’d like to know he’s a little closer to waking up, even with… Yeah, I’ll just go now.”

“Thank you,” I say.

Kara smiles, adjusting the glasses she must’ve picked up on her Earth. “It’s Barry. I wasn’t going to not help in any way I could.”

She leaves before I can properly thank her for everything and not just the pain reliever problem.

“That’s the same woman you sung a Disney villain song with?” Caitlin asks, not looking away from her screen.

“How many people has Scarlet told about that?”

Caitlin doesn’t answer.

*

23 hours, 1 minute and 44 seconds.

“I’ve got it!”

Caitlin injects her solution into the IV and steps back to watch if she was right. I brush away the last of Barry’s tears; the crying finally stopping, as his body relaxes.

“You’ll be able to make this into pill form then?” I ask.

The doctor smiles. “I will, but I’m going to have to rest for a bit first. Kara woke me up from my scheduled sleeping break earlier, and if I don’t lie down soon, I’ll end up passing out again.”

“Again?”

“Well, by scheduled sleeping break, I meant that I sat down for a moment and then was woken up 20 minutes later.”

“Ah,” I say. “This wouldn’t happen to be some sort of attempt to get me to sleep as well, would it?”

Caitlin shakes her head. “I’ve already given up on that front. I’ll be sure to tell Barry about all the sleep you missed when he wakes up though.”

“I can live with that.”

“Get Kara to wake me up if there are any changes. Until then, I think I could do with a solid thirty minutes and a whole bunch of caffeine after.”

Amateur. I haven’t needed one drop of coffee this entire time. Relying on a substance to stay awake, licit or not, would just make me more likely to fall asleep without it.

* 

24 hours.

“You need a break,” Iris says, her arms crossed.

“N–”

Kara drags me to my feet. “You’re having a break.”

“This is against my permission, and I would like that noted,” I declare, only staying on my feet because of how much I’m leaning on Kara.

I’m pretty sure both women are laughing at me, but calling them out will just keep me away from Barry for longer.

*

24 hours and 15 minutes.

“See, isn’t it better now that you’ve showered?” Iris asks.

If I were any more awake I’d tell her to cut the patronising tone. As it is, collapsing into my chair takes more effort than I expected. Reaching over to thread my fingers through Barry’s takes no effort at all.

“The lightning burns have completely faded,” Kara says.

“And his knees?” I ask.

Kara squints. “Caitlin should be able to take the splints off soon.”

“You really have x-ray vision,” Iris says.

Crap. I forgot that I was meant to keep these two from properly meeting. So long as Lisa stays busy with Mardon, this should still be safe.

“Learning to control it was up there with my strength,” Kara says.

Iris winces. “Yeah, I imagine it would be.”

“You two aren’t allowed to bond,” I mumble.

Kara laughs. “Oh, we already did over being reporters around 12 hours ago.”

“We don’t want a ceremony,” I say. “Please don’t make us.”

Iris is the first to figure out what I mean.

“What about a small party after Barry recovers?” she asks.

I hesitate. “That would be acceptable so long as Scarlet agrees too.”

“We wouldn’t want to upset your husband,” Iris teases.

“He’d pout. I never knew a grown adult could turn into a figurative puppy like that. Lisa lost the ability when she was a teenager, thankfully, but I can’t tell her that or she’d steal my stuff.”

I’ll be the first to admit that the sleep deprivation may be catching up to me. If I’d know I would be awake for this long, I would’ve taken a nap or something before the job, even if it meant facing Lisa’s teasing.

Kara clears her throat, and I flinch back at the sight of another grown adult giving me actual puppy dog eyes.

“Why is there another?” I complain.

They’re definitely both laughing at me now.

*

25 hours, 56 minutes and 12 seconds.

Iris leaves the medbay, off to rope her husband into party planning. Caitlin walks in at the same time and hears her plans.

“We’re throwing a party?” Caitlin asks.

“Only if Barry agrees,” I insist.

Kara laughs, no doubt knowing that Barry will go along with his sister’s plans.

The doctor shakes her head. “I’ll get the details out of Iris after I’ve finished removing the splints.”

“I can fill you in while you work,” Kara offers.

I lean closer to Barry. “Please wake up soon, Scarlet. They’re ganging up on me.”

His heartrate increases, but he doesn’t wake up.

*

27 hours and 2 minutes.

“You need to eat something,” Kara says, not bothering to ask anymore.

I look to Caitlin. “You’re sure the increased heartrate doesn’t mean he’s about to wake up?”

“If it did, he would’ve woken up in the last hour,” she says. 

“Fine,” I mutter. “It’s not like I have a choice anyway.”

*

27 hours, 5 minutes and 39 seconds.

Kara tilts her head to the side. “He’s awake.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My daily update streak is broken, but this chapter was both longer than usual and fairly difficult to write. If it drove anyone to tears, I'll consider it a success. The next two chapters won't be so emotionally taxing. Well, they shouldn't be, but characters always have a habit of surprising me, so we'll see.


	18. A Little Chat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara talks with Joe while Barry’s recovering (and Len is finally getting some overdue sleep).

**KARA**

It’s strangely satisfying to see Barry sprawled out across Len in an effort to keep the thief still enough to properly fall asleep, especially considering the speedster pouted at his husband and claimed that moving would only jostle his injuries. They’re both out for the count now, and I won’t be able to say my goodbyes and head home until they wake up. Alex knows where I am and understands the situation though, so it shouldn’t matter that I’m here for several more hours. I’m off work for a family emergency, which is pretty accurate considering Barry’s my brother from a different universe’s mother.

There’s something I’ve been meaning to do before I leave, something that’s part of my duty as Barry and Len’s friend. Maybe this has already been done by the people who actually live on this Earth, but I need to be sure that the message has finally sunk in. I don’t think I’d be able to control myself if the next time Barry visited he broke down in tears again because of the man that took him in when he had nowhere else ago. I’m not sure what I’d do if Elisa made me feel that way, and I won’t stand for Joe West doing it to Barry again.

With the help of x-ray vision and superhearing, I track Detective West to what must be Barry’s personal lab here. There are whiteboards filled with his familiar handwriting and a level of programming notes that I’ve only seen on either Krypton or Winn’s computer. This must be part of Barry’s efforts to make that AI that he’s destined to create. I’m pretty sure he said that he was hopelessly out of his depth, but these notes look like they’re way more advanced than a ‘casual’ programmer has any right to make. Then again, I understand downplaying your intellect to not intimidate people. I struggled enough with that when I was adapting to school on Earth.

Detective West is standing in the middle of the lab, staring at the whiteboards like they’re written in another language, which I guess they technically are.

“Detective West,” I say, finding it a little bit too funny when he startles at my voice.

He hurt Barry. I’m allowed to scare him.

“Supergirl.”

“Kara Danvers,” I correct, adjusting my glasses out of habit. “Well, technically, I’m Kara Zor-El, but not when I’m passing for human.”

Detective West’s jaw drops a little. “I forgot you were an…”

“Alien? Kryptonian? It doesn’t really matter either way, Detective. That’s not why I came to talk to you.”

“This about Cold then?” he asks.

“Len,” I correct, frowning. “Actually, I think that might be pushing it if you called him that. Maybe Leonard would do. Calling your son-in-law by his alias doesn’t really show that you approve of him.”

Detective West shakes his head and mutters “I’m never going to approve” under his breath.

“Did you know that one of my powers was superhearing, Detective?” I ask, giving him a smile that Alex taught me, one that’s had a couple of DEO agents back off when they thought I was a pushover. “If you don’t want your little muttering to be heard, then perhaps you should be keeping your thoughts to yourself.”

“Maybe I don’t feel the need to keep my thoughts to myself when all I can see when I look at those two is this entire thing ending in disaster. Cold is a thief and a supervillain. Barry is a CSI and a superhero. Things might seem okay for now, but one day their little agreement isn’t going to be enough and that’s going to end up with Barr getting his heart broken. After today, I can agree that Cold is just as invested as Barry is, but that’s not going to stop the inevitable train wreck. The two of them know that, otherwise they would’ve come clean about their relationship when it first started instead of keeping it a secret for so long.”

“You’re wrong,” I say calmly. “About them. It won’t end in disaster. They’re too in love with each other to let that happen. But that doesn’t matter, not when it comes to whether going forward you’re going to stay a part of Barry’s personal life. If you want to be there for Barry, truly be there for him, then you’re going to have to start respecting his decisions. All of them: good, bad, or somewhere in between. You’re going to have to respect that he is his own person, and that you’re simply not in a position to scold him like an errant child.

“And frankly, if you don’t get over yourself, then we won’t allow you to stay in his life. The ones who have stuck by him, who love him not regardless of his choices, but because of them, we will keep you away from him if we have to. Barry has gone through too much to be plagued by somebody who can’t acknowledge his right to think differently from them. Right now, you’re a danger to his emotional and physical health. And after Barry’s just experienced serious trauma, he does not deserve to be made to deal with you.

“This stopped being a case of keeping secrets and whether that’s alright so long ago that it’s downright ridiculous of you to still be caught up in it. Barry has apologised. Barry has explained himself. And Barry has repeatedly justified his decisions long after he was obligated to. You cannot expect him to now dedicate even more of his focus on repairing a relationship with you when you aren’t allowing for the fact that you seriously hurt him.

“Because, yes, I heard about the attempted dinner attempt. I spoke with Iris about it while we were waiting for Barry to wake up. And I’m not going to start pointing fingers about whose fault that all was. From what I can see, it was simply a situation that Barry wasn’t ready for, not after everything that you both personally put him through and set in motion by outing his marriage in the middle of the CCPD. But in the future, if you truly want to fix things between you and Barry, you can’t expect him to go back to the man he was before all of this.

“Doing what we do, it doesn’t allow for that. We see so much pain, so much of the very worse, and the best, of people every time we go out there. It changes you. That’s not even adding on the trauma that Barry has suffered recently, and not just this incident with Mardon. Those two officers that held him at gunpoint in his own lab, being attacked by one of his friends, and his family betraying him because they don’t trust his decisions: all of that adds up. Barry will always be essentially Barry, but that doesn’t mean he’s exactly the same.

“I really do hope that you can accept that, accept him, and accept the two of them being married, because otherwise you’ll learn soon enough just how many people have Barry Allen’s back. You saw how we came together to fight Mardon? Well, I hear there are a handful of time travellers that couldn’t make it. Them and your boss. Captain Singh, wasn’t it? Probably best to keep him on your good side. And if all else fails, there are a few people on my Earth that Barry helped save. I’d be happy to lead their charge.”

By the time I’m done talking, Detective West just sags, pure worry taking over his expression for the first time since we rescued Barry.

“What’s the point? Barr’s never going to forgive me.”

“If you try your best, if you make an effort to at least keep your doubts to yourself unless Barry explicitly asks your opinion, and if you let him set the pace, then maybe one day Barry will be able to forgive you. But if you don’t, then the only thing you’ll be sure about is that you were responsible for estranging your foster son. I don’t think you want that, Detective. I think that even with all that’s happened, you still love Barry, but he doesn’t know that. He isn’t sure of that anymore. And that’s where the real damage in your relationship lies.”

Detective West nods, but doesn’t look like he’s got the energy to continue talking about this, so I give him a quiet goodbye and make my way back to the cortex. Maybe our little chat will help things. Maybe it won’t make a different. But I tried my best, and that’s all that anyone can do. Hopefully, things turn out better for Len and Barry. I don’t want to see either of my friends hurt over more people in their lives not accepting their marriage. If anyone else has a problem, those two can point me in their direction, so I can break out the heat vision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A much calmer chapter and hopefully a satisfying end to Joe's character arc in this AU. I didn't want to end with him being completely accepting yet, mainly because I think that'd realistically take years, but I did want to show that he's at least heading in that direction. None of this AU is meant to be character bashing, more of showing that they're all people and sometimes people make stupid ass decisions and/or get too caught up in how they think the world is instead of how it actually is. 
> 
> The final chapter (❄) is already written, and I'll be posting it at some point tomorrow.


	19. Snowflake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Len and Barry adopt a kitten.

**LEN**

Barry’s sprawled out on the sofa, valiantly acting like he wasn’t just trying to walk unassisted right before I opened the door. I shake my head at him, but somehow the frown I try to force just turns into a fond smile. I’m not sure I could scold him right now if I tried, but I can subtly push him into not doing it again. Well, subtly push, bribe with food, whichever works best. For now though, I simply close the door behind me with one hand and bring the other out from behind me. I can spot the moment Barry sees what I’m holding when his sheepish expression disappears behind pure excitement.

“Is that what I think it is?”

I smirk, hiding the carrier behind me again and strolling towards my husband.

“That would depend on what you think it is, Scarlet,” I say, dropping a kiss on his lips, before sitting on the coffee table in front of him.

“Hm, it could be a robot that’s programmed with the most adorable little meows.”

The meowing does give it away a little, I’ll admit, but when I saw her, I just knew that she’d be perfect, so a little loudness is no problem.

“If it were a robot, we could’ve given it freeze breath or something equally ridiculous,” I muse.

“And laser eyes. We’d give it the same powers as Kara and watch it terrorise Mick when he tries to steal your beer.”

“Mick would somehow turn the robot on us,” I say.

Barry leans forward. “Good thing you’ve got a kitten there, isn’t it?”

Snowflake meows. The speedster pretty much melts into the couch while cooing over how cute she is. I chuckle at his antics and bring the carrier to rest next to me. A sharp glare keeps Barry from scrambling off the couch to get a closer look. He pokes his tongue out at me, but moves at a more reasonable pace for someone still healing. I open the carrier and hold my hand out. Snowflake blinks at me and crawls onto my hand.

“I’m pretty sure this is heaven,” Barry mumbles.

I don’t blush, and my Scarlet can’t say otherwise because he’s too focussed on the kitten that’s started rubbing her face against my thumb. Barry reaches over and pats her with a single finger, actually awing aloud when Snowflake blinks up at him with her ice blue eyes. I carefully lift her up and set her onto the couch next to Barry. He puts his hand out as a makeshift railing, which Snowflake just rubs her face against.

“Hey there, Snowflake,” Barry says. “You’re going to be my sidekick, right?”

“She’ll obviously be mine, Scarlet.”

Barry crosses his arms. “Says who?”

“Our names match, for one.”

“That’s because you named her.”

“Only because you’re terrible at naming things.”

Barry gasps and covers Snowflake’s tiny ears. “Don’t you dare call our daughter a thing! She’s a living being, and she has feelings.”

“She can’t understand me.”

“You don’t know that. She might have the meta-gene.”

“Should we have her tested then?” I ask, my voice perfectly serious even if I can’t help smiling softly at my husband’s usual ridiculousness.

“Maybe we should,” Barry says. “I’ll have to find an accredited vet of course, and I could run her DNA for any meta-gene markers. If she has any, then it could prove that the meta-gene is hereditary because Snowflake is too young to have been directly affected by the Accelerator Explosion.” 

Snowflake yawns, and Barry seems to forget what he was saying entirely. He yawns as well, and mumbles about it being contagious. I shake my head, while scooping Snowflake up in one hand, and pulling Barry up with my other.

“Time for sleepy Speedsters and sidekicks to go to sleep,” I say.

“She’s my sidekick,” Barry mumbles.

“Sure, Scarlet. And every other week, she’ll be my sidekick.”

“That seems fair.”

I kiss his temple. Barry mumbles something incoherent, as he stumbles into the bedroom, mostly leaning on me. It’s only through practice that I can manage to manoeuvre him to sit on the bed without either of us losing our balance. Barry yawns again and struggles to take his shirt off. He somehow gets himself tangled in the time it takes me to put Snowflake on the middle of the bed. I laugh at Barry’s failed attempt, even as I help him tug his arms free.

“You really are tired, huh?” I whisper.

“Might’ve tried walking by myself again,” he admits.

I reward his honestly with a quick kiss.

“You’ll heal soon enough.”

Barry plays with the hem of my shirt. “If I just–”

“Be patient, Scarlet. That’s all I ask.”

“Alright.”

“Someone’s agreeable,” I point out, as I get changed into something more comfortable.

Barry pats the already sleeping Snowflake.

“I don’t mind the time off,” he says. “Caught up on Star Labs admin stuff.”

I climb into bed and tug my husband into his normal position on top of me. Barry scoops up Snowflake and places her next to his head on my chest. I knew they’d end up sharing a pillow. But I’m hardly going to complain.

“Rest now, Scarlet,” I murmur, wrapping an arm around him. “I’ve got you.”

Barry cuddles a little closer, resting his ear directly above my heart.

“Thank you, Len.”

I don’t ask what for, just hold him a little tighter and hope for a nightmare free sleep between the two of us. It won’t happen anytime soon, not while Barry still has the bruises from Mardon, but I can hope. He will heal. One day he’ll be able to hear a thunder storm without being sent into a panic attack. One day he’ll be able to be left alone in his lab at the CCPD without checking the door every thirty seconds. One day he’ll be able to decide on something with a coin flip without flinching when it lands on heads. But it’ll take time. I’ll stick by him through it all, not matter how bad it gets.

I’ve got to make sure the Flash is back to full health for our little fights after all.

Seeing my husband light up the world again with his smile alone just happens to be a bonus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that’s this AU finally complete after over 100,000 words. I honestly wasn’t expecting the reception that this series got and am glad for every single person who gave it a read, kudos, bookmark, and/or subscribed. I’m especially grateful to all the comments, which helped me love the story all that much more. Sadly, there won’t be any more fics in this series, Moments is already a bonus that wasn’t in my original plans, even if it did add that something extra to the AU. This Barry and Len’s story is finished, but I’m nowhere near done in this fandom. I have two Flash fics that I’m slowly chipping away at, both of which are ColdFlash, because I apparently can’t help myself with these two. It’ll be a while yet until I begin posting either of them because I want to build up an actual backlog this time around.
> 
> The first is a standalone multi-chapter Season 1 AU called Oaths and Obligations and this is the current description: ‘Barry swore an oath to uphold the law, Caitlin to do no harm, and Cisco to not build any doomsday weapons. Some take their oaths more seriously than others, and some hold to their obligations above all else. Oaths and obligations alike are put under pressure when Barry refuses to operate as a vigilante without police approval. Suffice to say, a certain irate thief is unimpressed by the badge-backed superhero that’s made a home in his city.’
> 
> The second is a five part cross-fandom series called Wrong Universe. The first fic in the series is Constant Missteps, is a Season 3 AU, and this is its description: ‘Flashpoint doesn’t go over nearly as well with everyone, eventually leading to Barry taking on all the Star Labs and Flash duties by himself. Good thing something made time spit one Leonard Snart out of the Oculus explosion and into the pipeline right when Barry pushes himself too far.’ The first fandom it crosses over with will be the Merlin (TV) one. After that, well, you’ll have to wait and see.


End file.
